By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Jean-Paul Salomé
Starring: Hippolyte Girardot | Isabelle Huppert | Liliane Rovère | Michaël Louchart | Mounir Kateb | Raphaël Quenard | Yann Sundberg
Original language title: La daronne
Country: france
Year: 2021
Running time: 104
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9288726/reference
Michael says: “It’s nice to see Isabelle Huppert still in fine form, leading a lively cast through a bit of a crime romp about some drug smugglers. Huppert plays Patience, a French-Arabic translator for the Paris police anti-narcotics unit, who interprets the daily calls and conversations between the city’s biggest drug dealers. While visiting her deteriorating mother at the elder care facility, Patience overhears a kind nurse talking to her son on the phone and realizes that he is one of the driver for the smugglers. In an attempt to keep him out of danger, she inadvertently becomes the only person with knowledge of where the large stash of hash is stashed. In an attempt to get herself back on track, she’s behind on her rent, her daughter’s tuition, and behind on the medical fees for her mother, she reinvents herself as Mama Weed, a mysterious Arabic woman who appears as an eccentric drug trafficker who manages to stay one step ahead of the police force; even the lead detective with whom Patience is involved with.
“It’s all for light-hearted fun, so we’re not supposed to worry about where these drugs are ending up, or if they are turning young people into addicts. Huppert still commands attention, both as Patience, and Mama Weed, and supporting players such as Hippolyte Girardot (FLIGHT OF THE RED BALLOON, LA MOUSTACHE, KINGS & QUEEN), Farida Ouchani (THE CLASS) and Nadja Nguyen, as Patience’s unscrupulous landlady just add to the fun. It’s the kind of film that I had very low expectations about before watching, and ended up thoroughly enjoying. 4 cats“