gradyharp COMME UNE IMAGE (LOOK AT ME) is a tough little film that practically defies the viewer to love it. Rated as a comedy, it has few chuckles of the usual kind, but the smart tidy script delivers more of the Reformation-type comedy - wit with a bite. Writer/director and star Agnès Jaoui (her co-author is her ex-husband Jean-Pierre Bacri who also stars) is obviously an intelligent, observant, caustic chronicler of contemporary French society who dotes on celebrities at the expense of their own self-respect. Not a single character in this film is likable, but each one is fascinatingly interesting and a bit warped. Their interaction provides the venom that in Jaoui's hands raises the bar on the range of comedy.Étienne Cassard (Jean-Pierre Bacri) is a famous writer whose latest novel has been 'transformed' into a schmaltzy film about which he is loathsomely embarrassed. He is caustic, acerbic, and emotionally negligent of both his grown obese daughter Lolita (Marilou Berry), who devotes her resentful life in an attempt to being a famous concert singer, and to his new wife Karine (Virginie Desarnauts) and little daughter. Lolita's music coach is Sylvia (Agnès Jaoui) whose demands on her students reflect her frustrated life being married to an unknown author Pierre (Laurent Grévill). Odd paths cross and it is through Lolita's influence as the daughter of a famous writer Étienne that Sylvia arranges for Pierre to join forces with Étienne and gain acceptance and popularity, but the consequences include Sylvia's increased tutelage for Lolita and her group of fellow madrigal singers.Lolita comes the closest to being a character about whom we care. She is distraught about her weight, her distant father, her stepmother and stepsister, her inability to gain the affection for the boy of her dreams, her struggle to become a significant performer - all of which prevents her from recognizing the man who could salvage it all - Sébastien (Keine Bouhiza) who literally falls at her feet! All of these characters interact in complex and at times trying ways, ever cognizant of the 'authority of celebrity' and the results of these engagements form the body of the film. The acting is on a high level, the dialogue is crisp and smart, and the musical background for this mélange is a gorgeous mixture of classical music ranging from Buxtehude through Schubert ('An die Musik' plays a big role!) and many others. This 'comedy' is more intellectual than entertaining, but if wit and elegance of acting brings you joy, then this is a film to see. In French with subtitles at a long 2 hours! Grady Harp

dirtypearl "Comme une image" looked to be from the outset a very light French film. I immediately prepared myself for a comedy and to not expect much. I thought the acting was top-notch, but there was too much indulgence in sub-plots of characters that didn't seem to be important enough to the full story. To the point where it is detailing them too much as well their lives. There is one scene with Jean-Pierre Bacri playing chess, that seems to appear three separate times.. with dialog each time. It is meant to show the effects of his fame on those around him and the doors it opens.. but after seeing that same scene cut back to three separate times interspersed with other scenes it seemed a bit much. The relationship between Father and Daughter and the weight issues were all handled very well and interesting... but this film needed a good editor to hold it together. Usually I admire a director's indulgence and gratuity, but this had me rethinking. Avoid this movie!!

tomato-13 The main problem: Why develop so many characters if you're just going to end it by resolving one or two conflicts? For me, it seemed incomplete. The characters all seem to be very nicely developed- my favorite character, for instance, was Pierre. What happened to him and his relation to his wife? What about the father and Karine? What about the conflict between Pierre, his wife and Edith? Just seems like a lot of this are left open-ended. That said, the movie has some great lines, music, charming characters, and I recommend it. I never really got the feeling that it dragged on- only that they didn't truly end it- and this bothered me. So, in sum: The problem is that they really focus too much on resolving her little love-thing with Sebastien instead of giving a complete resolution for all the developed characters of the film

jrobert484-1 The most winning element of "Look At Me" is the treatment it gives its characters. Each falls prey to the human need for recognition, the theme of the film through out; but this is not about vain people seeking flattery. This film is about dignified people who never ask for adoration or act out in gaudy attempts to get attention. The characters of this film are tormented by the fact that being your genuine self often times goes unrewarded in life, and it is the vulgar, narcissistic and superficial who get all the glory. At the end, for better or worse, the characters are finally seen for who they really are and the peace of self acceptance is allowed to set in. This film seems to believe that we are sometimes unable to accept ourselves until we are validated by another. Ideas like these can lead to all sorts of French melodrama with plenty of wine soaked, cigarette smoke filled hysteria. Fortunately, the film takes an entirely different direction and lets the people, not their conflicts, guide the viewer through to a surprisingly heart touching ending. Why surprising? The film is so laid back you'll find yourself choked up when you really never even saw it coming. I give this film an 8!