At long last, director Agnes Jaoui’s second
film, "Look At Me," which received a warm welcome when
it opened the New York Film Festival last fall, is being screened
in Brooklyn.
Triple threat Jaoui has crafted a film that demonstrates her
many talents – as writer, director and actress. ("Look at
Me" garnered the best screenplay award at the 2004 Cannes
Film Festival for Jaoui and co-writer Jean-Pierre Bacri.)
In her movie, Jaoui plays the role of singing teacher Sylvia,
who is initially annoyed by the cloying enthusiasm of her heavyset,
20-year-old student, Lolita, but softens when she finds out that
Lolita’s father is a famous writer-publisher (played by Bacri).
Marilou Berry (pictured at right, with Jaoui) is riveting as
the angry Lolita who is not only eclipsed by her father’s celebrity
but doesn’t get any serious attention from him either. Lolita
must even compete with his young, pretty wife Karine (Virginie
Desarnauts) for her father’s attention.
As the lives of Sylvia and her boyfriend, also a writer, intertwine
with the lives of Lolita’s family, Jaoui creates a film that
mocks the sycophants who orbit celebrities; skewers the global
obsession with weight and beauty; and celebrates the healing,
transcendent power of the performing arts – especially the art
of song.
Throughout "Look at Me," the viewer anxiously watches
to see if Lolita will succumb to the pressure to remain miserable
and petty or take responsibility for her own life and pursue
the possibility of true love.
Just as Jaoui demonstrates the many ways people routinely demean
their customers, colleagues and loved ones, she deftly applies
a sprinkling of humor to help the medicine go down.
"Look At Me" is now playing at the BAM Rose Cinemas
(30 Lafayette Ave. at Ashland Place in Fort Greene). Tickets
are $10. For more information, call (718) 636-4100.
