Writer-director Régis Roinsard makes his feature debut here with Populaire, a 1950s-set French romantic comedy starring Romain Duris (The Beat That Skipped My Heart), Déborah François (The Monk, L’enfant), and the Oscar-nominated Bérénice Bejo (The Artist).
The first teaser trailer arrived over the summer, and now the first full-length French trailer has debuted over at AlloCiné, along with the official poster release through Facebook, with Duris and François front and centre.
“Spring, 1958. 21-year-old Rose Pamphyle lives with her grouchy widower father who runs the village store. Engaged to the son of the local mechanic, she seems destined for the quiet, drudgery-filled life of a housewife. But that’s not the life Rose longs for. When she travels to Lisieux in Normandy, where charismatic insurance agency boss Louis Echard is advertising for a secretary, the ensuing interview is a disaster. But Rose reveals a special gift – she can type at extraordinary speed.
Unwittingly, the young woman awakens the dormant sports fan in Louis. If she wants the job she’ll have to compete in a speed typing competition. Whatever sacrifices Rose must make to reach the top, Louis declares himself her trainer. He’ll turn her into the fastest girl not only in the country, but in the world!
But a love of sport doesn’t always mix well with love itself…”
Roinsard is directing from a script he co-wrote with newcomers Daniel Presley and Romain Compingt, with Alain Attal (Tell No One, Little White Lies) producing.
Populaire is set for release on 28th November in a handful of French-speaking countries in Europe. No word yet on when we can look forward to it in the UK or US, but Momentum Pictures have acquired it for us here in the UK, and The Weinstein Company have taken US rights, too, so we’ll hopefully be seeing it on the big screen either later this year or early in the New Year. For now, here’s the charming first poster for the film, which you can click to enlarge, followed by the trailer. I can’t understand a word, but it looks like a solid romantic comedy, and here’s to hoping we’ll have a subtitled trailer soon.
