Populaire

A fresh and colourful romantic comedy about typing? Surely some mistake? Au contraire. French director Régis Roinsard makes his debut with this enormously fun period piece set in the 1950s that plays like a cross between Mad Men and The Artist. Déborah François plays Rose, a small-town girl whose flying fingers take her up in the world when Louis (the charismatic Romain Duris, who made his reputation with Heartbreaker) spots her talent and enters her in a series of typewriting contests. Love, on the other hand, seems just out of touching distance, as the attractive Louis is a die-hard bachelor who keeps her at arm's length. Populaire is not completely predictable, though it does hark back to those sassy, screwball love stories that Hollywood used to churn out in the 1930s. In supporting roles, Bérénice Bejo (The Artist) and Miou-Miou (The Science of Sleep) add a touch more sparkle.