A wonderfully inventive and hilarious farce that offers an original take on the familiar Cinderella fairy tale, this French comedy also plays around with the usual gender roles. Imagine an Islamic like fundamentalist state in which the women hold the reins of power - they run the government and form the military - while the men are subjugated and have to wear clothing that covers them from head to toe. That's what's on offer in Bubunne, the fictional kingdom created by former graphic artist turned writer/director Riad Sattouf (the delightful coming of age tale The French Kissers, etc). The elderly general who rules the kingdom with an iron fist is ailing, and her eldest daughter, known as the Colonelle (played by Charlotte Gainsbourgh, recently seen in Nymphomaniac, etc), is set to take over the throne. But first she has to find a husband. A grand ball is planned, and all the men will attend in the hope that they will be picked. Jacky (played by Vincent Lacoste, from The French Kissers) is infatuated with the colonel, and has long dreamed of becoming her husband. But his cruel uncles and obnoxious cousins prevent him from attending the ball, until some unexpected help comes along. Sattouf keeps things moving along at a fast pace, with plenty of visual and verbal humour, and he has even created his own strange language for the kingdom. There is a nice surprise twist at the end, which will bemuse some. Lacoste brings plenty of energy to his role as the desperate, naive and virginal Jacky. Gainsborough seems drawn towards these offbeat, daring roles, and she is brave and game. The cast also includes Michel Hazanavicius, the Oscar winning director of The Artist, in a key role as a revolutionary, who becomes Jacky's unofficial "fairy godmother". Sattouf throws a lot of ideas at the screen and most of them work. This offbeat and satirical take on gender roles and politics is enjoyable and has the potential to be a real crowd pleaser.
Review of Jacky in the Kingdom of Women
