Gentle humour and earthy emotion give this film a wonderfully relaxed tone that astutely captures our imagination.
The Singer (2006)
Runtime: 1 hr 52 mins
Genre: Foreign Films
Starring: Gerard Depardieu, Cecile de France
Reviews
Giannoli's film is as bitter as it is sweet and paints the scene with masterly precision, even if the usual comforting ending is at odds with what has gone before.
Depardieu, utterly relaxed, is a decent crooner, and what the film lacks in strong narrative it compensates for in charm and De France's odd loveliness.
The Singer requires a certain amount of sentimental indulgence, and indeed a specific fondness for French chansons to be really loved.
Gerard Depardieu as the walrus of lurve chansons? It’s unlikely, but it works.
A minor work for the famous Gallic acting export, The Singer still leaves a song in the heart.
Constantly confounding expectations, this is a film of heart and humour.
Just like the songs that it celebrates, Giannoli's film may speak to the universal human feelings of love, loss and loneliness, but its rather crusty veneer will not be to everyone's tastes.
An admirably tough, ambivalent and honest look at the fraught relationship between real feelings and the culturally acceptable (or otherwise) public expression of similar emotions as manipulative entertainment. Excellent.
Depardieu is wonderful as Alain, presenting him as an honest, discreet and painfully realistic character who really cares about his work, as opposed to the more obvious cliches of a washed-up, sleazy loser still dreaming of the big time.
...a very unique love story featuring a knockout performance from Depardieu...
Gerard Depardieu gives an exquisitely soulful performance ... a deceptively simple, yet affecting film about the poetry of love, the burden of loneliness and the thrill of a May December romance.
A French, musical, small-town variant on Lost in Translation that deserves an equally big audience.
The Singer hits all its emotional gracenotes with spot-on pitch.
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