Most people on finals week would cram, party or watching the most random shows on Netflix. I’ve found my addicting distraction in French films. Here’s the second film I have seen called L’écume des Jours or Mood Indigo.
L’écume des Jours/Mood Indigo is a 2014 romantic drama based on Boris Vian’s Froth on the Daydream. It stars Audrey Tautou and Romain Duris and directed by Michel Gondry. Colin (played by Duris) has the high life around him: his wealth, his friends – Nicholas and Chick – and his “pianocktail”. At one of Chick’s parties, he meets Alise (played by Tautou). They fall in love and get married. On their honeymoon, Alise falls ill and finds out that a water lily is growing on her lung. The only treatment would be surrounding her with flowers, which is very expensive and causes Colin to exhaust his funds. Time passes and her condition does not get any better. Meanwhile, Chick and Alise’s friendship is strained due to Chick’s obsession with philosopher Jean-Sol Patre. Chick also exhausts his funds on collecting Patre’s works. Alise goes to extreme measures to help her friend stop his obession, which unfortunately ends with the destruction of the friendship. Colin, who is now broke, cannot afford more flowers to treat Alise and Alise dies.
It was nice to know a familiar face in a foreign film. Audrey Tautou played Amelie in the film of the same name, which was a big hit. Seeing how she performed well in Amélie, I knew Mood Indigo would be a great film, which it was. I loved the work “pianocktail”, which is a mash-up of “piano” and “cocktail”. This film’s whimsical fantasy reminds me of Amélie, which also that whimsical feel.
Your Way with Words 