Reviewer's Rating 3 out of 5
Rien 脌 Faire (Empty Days) (2001)
12

Unemployed for the last fourteen months, Marie (Bruni Tedeschi) meets the recently jobless Pierre (Dell'Isola) in the local supermarket. Both married, they form a tentative friendship, meeting to fill the endless hours between job applications and interviews. Their sojourns amid the food aisles soon provide more than light relief from work and their unfulfilled marriages (Marie to a hard-working unionist, Sergi L贸pez, Pierre to a hard working socialiser, Florenc Thomassin), and they quickly become lovers.

Conceived between projects, Marion Vernoux's film is an intriguing affair with a strong socio-economic slant and observation of the demoralising effects of unemployment and the way people are defined by thier careers and material wealth. The supermarket is a novel setting for a love story, lending it a poignant realism while also serving to comment upon subjects such as class, consumerism and the steely grip exerted on our lives by multi-national food corporations.

Capturing both intimacy and a sense of imprisonment through the use of a hand-held camera, the film is well served by its principal cast (L贸pez proves his versatility by playing an exact opposite of his role in "Harry He's Here To Help"), lead by the always impressive Bruni Tedeschi. Yet despite the film's obvious integrity and admirable agenda, the execution is at times undeniably weak. The fault lies with Vernoux's collaborative script with Santiago Amigorena, which paints Marie as an Emma Bovary type character, surrounded by innocent notions of romance and love, but, doomed in her attraction to the selfish and unpleasant Pierre.

Released by the BFI, "Rien 脌Faire" is further evidence - in light of the recent "Ressources Humaines" - of the thought-provoking fare emanating from France. The love story does it no favours, but that's not to say that it isn't at times intelligent viewing.

"Rien 脌 Faire" is showing at the from 18th May 2001.

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End Credits

Director: Marion Vernoux

Writer: Marion Vernoux, Santiago Amigorena

Stars: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Patrick Dell'Isola, Sergi L贸pez, Florence Thomassin

Genre: Drama, World Cinema

Length: 105 minutes

Cinema: 18 May 2001

Country: France

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