With a Little Help from Myself
”There’s always a solution,” goes the mantra of African-French earth mother Sonia (Felicite Wouassi), and she sure needs plenty of them, given the chaos in her family. Francois Dupeyron’s first outing since the 2005 international hit ”Monsieur Ibrahim” shows abundant heart, overcooked comic plotting and an undisciplined directorial hand. Low-budget feature piques interest for its look at Africans sidelined in bland public housing outside Paris, but the story could just as well take place in an African village, so little does it connect with anything specifically French.
– TODD MCCARTHY, VARIETY
The film, a darkly humorous French language drama about a middle-aged black woman from the projects learning to be happy on her own terms, isn’t the type of movie I would normally rush out to see. In fact, when I looked it up in the program guide my eyes nearly glazed over. However, even if the territory is well tread, the actual fi lm is a thing of joy. (…) A truly splendid and unexpected pleasure.
– HUNTER M. DANIELS, COLLIDER.COM
Duration: 94 min
Dialogue: French
Subtitles: English
