DVD Review: ‘Park Benches’ Features Dazzling French Ensemble

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CHICAGO – Episodic ensemble pieces in America often follow a contrived pattern typified by Paul Haggis’s “Crash.” Various diverse lives are juxtaposed and intersect while illustrating an overarching theme. What’s so refreshing about Bruno Podalydès’s 2009 French gem, “Park Benches,” is its utter lack of dramatic significance. It’s more interested in exploring the idiosyncrasies of humanity rather than preaching a self-important message.

Podalydès is a writer/director not known to most American moviegoers, but this thoroughly delightful comedy is bound to win the filmmaker many new fans. The vast majority of his screwball humor does not get lost in cultural translation, and produces countless moments that are laugh-out-loud funny. As a microcosm of Parisian society, “Benches” hops whimsically from one colorful scenario to the next, capturing vignettes as endearing as they are bittersweet.

HollywoodChicago.com DVD Rating: 4.0/5.0
DVD Rating: 4.0/5.0

What’s apparent right off the bat is the picture’s mammoth gallery of French stars. It takes nearly five-and-a-half minutes for the film’s cast line-up to run in its entirety, though the marquee names chosen for the film’s poster (such as the agelessly radiant cinema queen Catherine Deneuve) are entirely deceiving, since none of them are featured in major roles (Deneuve’s “Christmas Tale” co-star Mathieu Amalric appears for a mere two minutes). The real star of the show is Lucie (Florence Muller), an office employee and Pac-Man addict whose attention span consistently drifts from her work and out the window. One morning, Lucie’s wandering eyes widen in alarm as she spots a banner hanging from an apartment window across the street. According to the film’s subtitles, the banner reads, “Lonely Man,” though according to the deleted scenes, it reads, “Single Man.” To make matters even more confusing, the DVD synopsis claims that the banner translates to “Man Alone.” None of these messages would seem to be disturbing enough to warrant an investigation by Lucie her co-workers (Chantal Lauby and Emeline Bayart), but if viewers are willing to take that leap of faith, the film begins to work its magic. Concerned about the possible suicidal tendencies of the banner’s creator, Lucie and her pals race over to the apartment building, which ends up being inhabited by a host of eccentrics. This is one of many comedic sketches in the film that build to an inspired level of lunacy that’s sustained for just the right amount of screen time.

Park Benches was released on DVD on July 26, 2011.
Park Benches was released on DVD on July 26, 2011.
Photo credit: IFC Films

The only section of the film that threatens to outstay its welcome takes place in the third act, as cinematographer Yves Cape’s fluid lens starts to revolve around balding hardware store clerk Aimé (Denis Podalydès), who sneaks swigs of alcohol out of a bottle deceptively labeled, “Fish Cool.” The director himself scores laughs as the long-suffering manager of the store (oddly named Brico-Dream), straining to keep his workers in line while seducing his older female customers (such as Deneuve) with herbal tea. Yet “Benches” grows weaker in its later scenes, as multiple subplots start succumbing to slapstick.

A couple marvelous twists in the film’s final minutes compensate for these missteps, though the film’s strongest scenes occur in the enthralling second act (which could’ve easily been expanded to fill a feature of its own). It takes place entirely within a circular park inhabited by an ever-revolving group of Parisians, each with their own hang-ups and desires but unified by their need to be part of a community. My favorite scene centers on a would-be ladykiller (Elie Semoun) feigning a phone call in a pathetic attempt to a pick up a beautiful woman (wonderfully played by Isabelle Candelier). His boastful banter is drowned out by the woman’s own fiery phone call with her ex (Hippolyte Girardot), who confesses that he dumped her purely because of her annoying habit to interject cartoon noises into everyday conversation. She’s later seen beating up a toy he rejected, which just happens to spout cartoon sounds. It is cosmic jokes like these that prove to be Podalydès’s specialty in this ever-surprising, infectiously entertaining treat. 

“Park Benches” is presented in its 2:35.1 aspect ratio, accompanied by English and Spanish subtitles and includes an assemblage of rather disappointing extras. Easily the worst of the bunch is a tour through “The Universe of Bruno,” an exhibition of film props and other works from Podalydès. The camera simply glides through the exhibit without lingering long enough on any of the artworks, while failing to provide any sufficient context for them. The film’s spoiler-laden trailer is equally awful, portraying the film as a broad, sickeningly cute farce. Much of the disc’s 15 minutes of deleted scenes are devoted to additional ad-libs from Podalydès, though there are also some additional vignettes that are bookended with shots from the film, thus illustrating precisely how they would’ve fit in the grand puzzle. The only vignette worth keeping in the film would’ve been the extended interaction between a pregnant woman (Élodie Huber) and her mother (Guilaine Londez) at Brico-Dream.

There are also four minutes of the cheesy promos displayed throughout the store, though the best special features focus solely on Podalydès himself, who could easily anchor a feature all by himself. In an amusingly inexplicable clip, Podalydès shares a moment of joy he had while reading the instructions on a bottle of “penetrating oil.” The filmmaker is also seen delivering a crowd-pleasing introduction to the film in Rome, where he admits that he enjoys watching the film with different audiences in order to see which cultures react to what jokes. An audio commentary in which Podalydès shared some of his festival screening observations would’ve been most welcome.

‘Park Benches’ is released by IFC Films and stars Florence Muller, Denis Podalydès, Bruno Podalydès, Laure Calamy, Hippolyte Girardot, Isabelle Candelier, Josiane Balasko, Chantal Lauby, Emeline Bayart, Pierre Arditi, Mathieu Amalric, Chiara Mastroianni, Emmanuelle Devos and Catherine Deneuve. It was written and directed by Bruno Podalydès. It was released on July 26, 2011. It is not rated.

HollywoodChicago.com staff writer Matt Fagerholm

By MATT FAGERHOLM
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
matt@hollywoodchicago.com

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