Populaire! (2013)

Rating: 4/5

The latest French import 'Populaire' opens with a scatty, vibrant animated title sequence accompanied by chirpy orchestration. It quite reminds me of the opening credits of 'Catch Me If You Can', and in rather the same fashion, these opening credits are a clever little illustration of our protagonist's personality.

Scatter-brained but ambitious, Rose Pamphyle (Deborah Francois) starts out at an interview for a secretary job with Echard Insurance - a very desirable position in 1959 - and she is all wrong. Her lipstick is too bright, her hair isn't neatly secured, she's an out-of-towner, and she just isn't a very good secretary. But when, with a burst of desperation, she hammers out a perfect copy of a letter on the typewriter, Mr Echard (Romain Duris) is impressed by her skill and speed.

Echard is, I suppose, your average French male lead: he is ruggedly handsome, suffering from an attitude problem, and never without a cigarette in his hand. So when he mentions that his terrible new recruit can keep her job if she'll do something that is "not really work-related," she is certainly not expecting him to whip out a pamphlet for the National Speed-Typing Championships.

With his relentless training and piano lessons from Echard's friend, Rose quickly rises through the ranks and becomes national, and eventually world champion. But of course, the relationship between pupil and tutor takes interesting turns, particularly in this case as the strong personalities have some amusing clashes.

It's cute and quaint to see the reactions to various situations from a '50s crowd. Rose retorts to the inevitable seduction, "It's 1959 - girls don't tend to wait until marriage any more," and hordes of young women claw and cry and crave as Rose Pamphyle (or "PAM-ful" to the irritating American contest judge) becomes a teen idol, all for being the world's fastest typist. It's like Beatlemania.

The visuals are fun and creative. Consider, for example, a scene in which Echard and his buddy Bob are playing tennis, while arguing over his plans for Rose. Echard sees her potential; Bob sees her screw-ups. From sideways on, the net vertically cuts the screen in half, each man glaring competitively at the other through their division.

Unfortunately, like so many before it, Populaire is tainted with the dreaded 12A certificate. It's a fun movie, and mostly suitable all around. But bear in mind that there is a little moderate language, and a love scene with brief breast shots. Were there still such a certificate that allowed those over the age of 12 only to attend, there would be no issue, and for most open-minded people, there still will be none. But it is something to consider if planning a family trip.