Marguerite (Xavier Giannoli, 2015) France, Czech Republic, Belgium

Reviewed by Satara Arthaud. Viewed at the Santa Barabara Film Festival 2016.

Marguerite a foreign drama film that has won the Nazareno Taddei Award and has been nominated twice for the Golden Lion and the Green Drop Award. Marguerite was shown at the Arlington theater and was the closing film to the 2016 Santa Barbara Film festival. Adding to the drama, there were some technical difficulties in which in the beginning of the screening the subtitles were not fully showing. This created an uproar in the audience as to let the projectionist know. After the fourth try and watching the first ten or so minutes of the movie, without knowing what they were saying, it finally worked.

Set in 1920’s Paris, Marguerite is a very wealthy women, who is lover of music particularly opera, and expressing her emotions through her singing. However Marguerite’s singing voice is not as sweet as her character. As we find out in the beginning of the film, as we are welcomed into a prestigious mansion with an opera concert that is being put on by non other then Marguerite herself, with  her being the “star.” A couple of newspaper reporters who’s intentions were to potentially swindle her end up being inspired by her,  and get caught  into the lie that everyone wouldn’t dare expose. In fact everyone goes along with her fantasy including her husband, who is her muse and the only one she seeks love and attention from. The film captures Marguerite’s spirit that is some what like a lost puppy, contagious, and heart felt.

The most significant aspect of the film was the underlying message of, “Are you a dreamer or an achiever?” As well as Marguerite’s passion and creativity that is showed through her singing. With elements of comedy,  with an artistic view, broken down into chapters and the imagery being very poetic, this film not easily forgotten.