The Fairy

Lovers of slapstick rejoice, as the writer/director/performer team of Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon and Bruno Romy build upon the fine impression made with Iceberg (2005) and Rumba (2008) to deliver another charmingly off-kilter homage to Chaplin, Keaton and Tati. Gordon plays a woman who escapes from an asylum and convinces a hotel clerk in Le Havre (Abel) that she is a fairy who can grant him three wishes. The premise may be a simple one, but plot isn't the strong point of this film-making trio - they excel at absurdist set pieces that surprise and amuse with their angular physicality and uproarious unpredictability. Comic chases, dance sequences and gags with children and animals are packed into a romp that slows slightly in the middle before regaining momentum for a daring rescue and a brilliantly inventive runaway-car pursuit. With Romy's myopic bartender and Philippe Martz's fussy English tourist adding to the fun, this is close to irresistible.