French-language comedy abounds with the sort of film that makes perfect sense while you're watching it, but cannot be recounted to anyone who hasn't seen it without realising that...um...it's totally mad. "La Fée" is one of these. Part of its success is the fact that while the situations are farcical in the extreme, the actors carry them out totally deadpan, in the style of Buster Keaton. It's "normal" in their world, so you accept it as normal. Once you can accept the basic premise (sad little night clerk encounters a fairy who offers him three wishes), you are drawn into their version of reality, and no matter how mad it gets you just keep going, wondering where it will all end up. The actors are excellent, sending up silent films, musical comedies and rom-coms in the most ludicrous way without telegraphing (as so many American and English actors would), "Okay, get ready to laugh, funny bit coming up!" No, they just do what they do, and you find yourself giggling with astonishment. The hospital system comes in for its share of sendups (from the "smoking area" to the staff-of-one who manages to keep everything under control...to a point), the national obsession with rugby, etc. You do have to be aware or many of the more obscure bits of "business" will be lost. I think Keaton and Lloyd would have enjoyed this film very much. If it had a weakness, it was in the non-end; the director simply stopped filming when he was done, without attempting to tie it all up in a nice, bland little package.
"La Fée" reminded me strongly of "L'Iceberg". When I checked IMDb I realised it was made by the same people.
"La Fée" reminded me strongly of "L'Iceberg". When I checked IMDb I realised it was made by the same people.