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Hypnotized and Hysterical review
:. Director: Claude Duty
:. Starring: Amira Casar, Marina Fois
:. Running Time: 1:36
:. Year: 2002
:. Country: France
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Yet another portrayal of three confused young women is the first full-length film from director Claude Duty, known for his work in the advertising and short film industry. Artfully combining different genres, this modest comedy brought a light touch to the festival. Not exactly a film to linger on the spectators' mind, it still is great entertainment.
There's something about Klapisch in Claude Duty's first film. Each one is looking for someone or something, their share of happiness, just like in Klapisch's When the cat's away. Natacha, one of the main characters, is hunting high and low for her missing cat and the old lady who appeared in Klapisch's film can be seen briefly in Duty's screen debut. Hypnotized and Hysterical is a comedy propelled by the actresses' performances and witty dialogues. "When you're feeling down, just think of the Kurds or Chechens' "When I feel I've put on a few pounds too many, I just think of Demis Roussos' chirps Natacha, star of the French 'Robin des bois' comic acting troop.
Playing with the limits of vulgarity, in between genres, Duty finds his inspiration in a number of sources. In the film, the three heroines express their characters by singing a song, although the film is not a musical comedy as such. At one point in the film Philippe, an ethnology professor, tells the legendary tale of an Incan princess against a Disney-like cartoon backdrop. The idea is interesting, although somewhat gratuitous, but there's nothing here to cause a scandal. These clichés and caricatures support and brighten up the film. We encounter the intellectual student who wiles away her time in arty fashionable places, a dumb, alcoholic hairdresser who is one of the nicest people you could meet, and an angry, working-class character who doesn't mince her words. The male characters aren't left by the wayside either. There's the perverted seducer who does shady things in his art gallery, the debonair, big-hearted professor who's always ready to offer a shoulder to cry on. And some choice far-fetched situations like the therapy session in which the girls have to throw mothers holding their babies out of planes. The mothers' mission being not to let go of their offspring under any circumstances.
The film's main weaknesses are the weak psychological portrayal of the characters and overall shallowness. Flaws aside, Hypnotized and Hysterical aims to be nothing more than a light-hearted comedy about friendship between three young single women. The talented performances of the cast (Amira Casar, Marina Fois, Olivia Bonamy, Charles Berling and Sergi Lopez) make this film a genuine treat and most entertaining. And that's good enough.
Moland Fengkov
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