French Twist

REVIEW
This whimsical French farce with a lesbian twist nicely blends all the outrageousness of its genre with some finely drawn subtleties to create a highly amusing divertimento that is peppered throughout with touching moments. Abril is Loli, the dutiful (and evidently happily housebound) Spanish wife of a boorish French real estate broker (Chabat). Marijo (Balasko), a bohemian, cigar-smoking dyke from Paris, lands on their doorstep in the South of France with a broken-down VW minivan and, after a bit of small talk, makes a pass at Loli. Starved for the attentions of her philandering husband, Loli responds warmly to these advances, much to his outrage. Filled with the standard burlesque guffaws, French Twist is most impressive for its even-handed treatment of its characters. Balasko is quite fetching as a boyishly macho lesbian, Abril's range of emotion is sensational and her radiance is enough to capture the heart of any sexual persuasion. (French with English subtitles)