There is of course nothing new about autobiographical Art whether it comes in the form of a play (The Glass Menagerie), a novel (Other Voices, Other Rooms) or a film (Le Grand Chemin) and Diane Kurys has devoted more time than most to her childhood and adolescence and arguably mined it more successfully than most. Diabolo Menthe was the very first of her memoirs and it may be significant that the year it appeared, 1977, was the year she made the last of thirteen films as an actress (so far she has directed twelve films). She followed with Molotov Cocktail which I've yet to see, Coup de foudre, which dealt mainly with her mother, and La Baule-les-Pins, which continued the story of the two sisters, Frederique and Anne. Both Coup de foudre and La Baule-les-Pins were excellent so I tended to expect a lot from Diabolo Menthe and whilst it failed - at least for me - to match the high standards of Coup de foudre and La Baule-les-Pins it remains a remarkable achievement with a fine central performance and first-rate supporting actors. In a perfect world all four titles would be issued in a boxed set with a down side of drawing more attention to the fact that in each case the principles are played by different performers, something that although clear is not so glaring when the films are spaced apart as of course they were. Very well worth a look.
Review of Peppermint Soda
