Paulette (2012)

Paulette lives alone in a housing project in the Paris suburbs. With her meager pension, she can no longer make ends meet.

Director:

Jérôme Enrico

Writers:

Laurie Aubanel (scenario), Jérôme Enrico (dialogue)

Stars:

Bernadette Lafont, Carmen Maura, Dominique Lavanant

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bernadette Lafont	...	Paulette
Carmen Maura	...	Maria
Dominique Lavanant	...	Lucienne
Françoise Bertin	...	Renée
André Penvern	...	Walter
Ismaël Dramé	...	Léo
Jean-Baptiste Anoumon	...	Ousmane
Axelle Laffont	...	Agnès
Paco Boublard	...	Vito
Mahamadou Coulibaly	...	Idriss
Kamel Laadaili	...	Momo
Aymen Saïdi	...	Rachid
Soufiane Guerrab	...	Zak
Samir Trabelsi	...	Pierrot
Schemci Lauth	...	Le dealer tunnel

Storyline

Paulette lives alone in a housing project in the Paris suburbs. With her meager pension, she can no longer make ends meet. One evening when she attends a curious traffic incident outside her building, Paulette sees the sign of destiny. She decides to start selling cannabis. After all, why should she not? Paulette was formerly pastry chef. Her gift for trade and cooking skills are assets towards finding original solutions in the conducting of her new business.

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Plot Keywords:

stoner comedy | female protagonist | swat team | karaoke machine | old age | 

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Taglines:

From hard times to high times

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

M/12

User Reviews

Naughty and nice

This is the French take on the surprisingly popular story of "staid grandmother becomes dope peddler". In this case: A widow hankers back to her personal belle époque when she ran a successful restaurant with her husband. Now, her husband's drunk himself to death, Asians have taken over her restaurant, her daughter is estranged and money's too tight to mention. The once lively Paulette has become lonely and depressed and blames it all on the immigrants. In true Ayn Rand spirit, Paulette then decides to use her entrepreneurial skills and sell the old ganja, even if this means cooperating with -- well, the very same criminal immigrants she dreads so much.

The story is fairly linear and takes few twists and turns, but because of the great dialogues and great acting, it's nevertheless entertaining. Like a great dish, if it tastes great you won't complain just because you've had it before. And like chocolate, I like my movies the better the darker they come.

Details

Official Sites:

Gaumont [France] Official site [France]

Country:

France

Language:

French Dutch

Release Date:

18 April 2013 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Nome de Código: Paulette

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$8,882, 16 August 2015

Gross USA:

$29,494

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$14,691,318

Company Credits

Production Co:

Légende Films, Gaumont, France 2 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1