Populaire

2013 "A comedy that strikes all the right keys."
6.8| 1h51m| R| en| More Info
Released: 06 September 2013 Released
Producted By: France 2 Cinéma
Country: France
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: https://www.wildbunch.biz/movie/populaire
Synopsis

An insurance agent and his new secretary become locked in the grip of romance and competition as they train together for a speed-typing contest.

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Reviews

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
Tyreece Hulme One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.
Winifred The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.
Skyler Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.
Strega Granger French cinema has movies worth our time, beside those movies that reach our countries, either Spain or the USA, through the big door (ex: "Untouchables", "La Vie en Rose", "Amélie"...). This one is not that big of a film, but nonetheless, is a film worth watching to learn something about that period of time in France and to learn about the typewriting world that now does no longer exist. If you are a Mad Men fan, you will certainly recognize the style, those late 50s and early 60s.In this movie we can appreciate this typewriting world from a woman's point of view, specially this competition world (truth to be told I had no idea that there were these kind of competitions) in France and around the world. Romain Duris is a well-known actor that has made many films in France (shame we don't know him that much), with him we have Déborah François, and when both are on-screen you can feel their chemistry (just try to watch the movie in French, pleaaaase). She is so clumsy and he is so patient, really well-balanced. Moreover, there is Bérénice Bejo, world known for being the female main character in the Oscar-winning movie "The Artist", who gives that touch of glamour to the film.To sum it up, it is a predictable story but who does not like these kind of stories? Its historical context and adaptation plus the actors and actresses performances make it worth watch. And remember, better to watch it in French. I strongly recommend it!!By the way "Populaire" stands for the brand of the typewriting machine.
Red-Barracuda An awkward girl from a small French town discovers she has an uncanny skill in speed typing. Soon thereafter she gets a secretarial job at an advertising agency. Impressed with her skills, her new boss enters her for a national speed typing contest. Love soon enters the mix, resulting in complications.This French romantic-comedy is one with a glossy and polished feel, one with an unashamedly nostalgic view of the 1950's. It's also one with a fairly typical plot trajectory for this kind of thing but I often find I am extremely forgiving of predictability in romantic-comedies so long as I care for the characters. And in this case both of the central roles are very well played by regular French leading man Romain Duris and, especially, Déborah François in a lovely turn as the central heroine. I found it quite easy getting on board with this pair and was very willing to forgive over-familiarity once again. It's essentially another version of the Pygmalion story, with Duris' older man trying to mould François into something special. The one area, of course, where the movie stands out is in centring the drama on the, hitherto very uncinematic sport of speed-typing. But, as with any well-written and acted film, it succeeds in presenting this somewhat niche activity like it was the FIFA World Cup final! And you know what? Movies aren't real life to begin with so ya just got to go with the flow and believe in them when you watch them as, otherwise, what would be the point? And I, for one was more than happy to spend time watching Déborah François type super-fast with a two-finger technique. I found this good-natured movie overall a very enjoyable one indeed, it was simple and affecting yet still delightfully quirky in its own unique way.
valadas And nothing more. Too superficial story and plot in terms of events and psychological actions and reactions. A romantic comedy of the kind of cinema (chiefly from Hollywood) used to show in the fifties of last century and that is maybe why the plot takes place in the end of that decade. A girl who lived in a village in Normandy, France aspires not to stay there as a bourgeois married housewife and wants to become a secretary. After being hired by an insurance businessman she astonishes him by her extraordinary typing speed and being himself a competitive person he intends to make her a champion and leads her to take part in typewriting championships first in France and finally in New York. She got first place in all of them and becomes World Typewriting Champion in the end. However a troubled love relationship starts between them because his love for competition conflicts often with his love for her. All this is shown in a very simple way with no special dramatic scenes.
morrison-dylan-fan Looking round for the fun mutant monster pig French Horror flick Prey to give as an Easter gift to a friend,I decided to take a look at Prey's co-star Bérénice Bejo's credits.Spotting a credit that I had read a good amount of praise for from its screening on BBC4,I decided that it was a good time to find out how popular populaire is.The plot-France 1959:Wanting to get away from working in the local family shop and the marriage that her dad is pushing her to do, Rose Pamphyle decides to leave the small town behind and go to the big city in order to apply for a job as secretary to insurance agency boss Louis Échard.Sitting at a typewriter for the interview, Pamphyle types up a letter at lightning speed,which leads to Échard hiring Pamphyle on the spot.Seeing Pamphyle get into the rhythm of typing, Échard starts to think that Pamphyle could enter the contest/sport where the best (and fastest) typist in France is found. Initially afraid of joining the event, Pamphyle soon begins to type a new chapter in her life.View on the film:Darting across the screen in burning red hair,the gorgeous Bérénice Bejo gives a wonderful performance as Marie Taylor,whose icy queen bee Bejo melts away to reveal something much more delicate. Surrounding Pamphyle with praise as she enters the contest, Romain Duris gives a dashing performance as Échard by casing him in a shell of savvy confidence,which Duris cracks to show Échard wondering how far he should let his feelings for Pamphyle develop.Catching everyone by surprise with her typing skills,the stunning Déborah François gives an alluring performance as Pamphyle.Leaving the village behind, François gives Pamphyle a meek appearance which François splendidly peels away to paint Pamphyle with a fiery passion to do things her own way.Set just as the French New Wave was kicking off,co-writer/(along with Daniel Presley and Romain Compingt) director Régis Roinsard & cinematographer Guillaume Schiffman largely stay away from New Wave flashes, (although they do find room for a small tribute to Hitchcock's Vertigo) to instead tap into the ultra glossy romantic Comedy/Drama movies of the early 60's.Backed by a sweet score from Emmanuel D'Orlando & "Robin" Coudert, (who is usually a fantastic Horror composer) Roinsard & Schiffman lavish the film with an immaculate,chic shine,from sweeping crane shots making the typing contest nail- biting set-pieces,to the ultra-stylised,candy coloured clothes and location vividly popping on the screen.For the blossoming romance between Échard & Pamphyle,the screenplay by Roinsard/ Presley and Compingt keep things largely light and fluffy,but link some great rough edges to keep things from being too sickly sweet,as Pamphyle's attempt to find her own path is found with a delightfully quirky sense of humour.Sliding the genre into the 60's Rom/Drama's,the writers keep a run on the breezy romance with an exciting Sports lap,which along with impressively making type writing look like a stadium-worthy event (!) also leads to Pamphyle discovering how populaire she is.