Mon Meilleur Am
France, 2006 : Dir. Patrick Leconte, Starring Daniel Auteil, Danny Boon

Being Friends

If I feel anger at the way I am treated. Others might also feel anger at the way I treat them.

Yesterday I saw a very interesting film titled Mon Meilleur Ami, "My best friend" by the French director Patrick Leconte. It was only as sentimental as it needed to be as a film dealing with the theme of affection but rather more it was a study in the nature of friendship, loyalty and by extension, love. In doing so it weaved in a lot of observations about modern assumptions about people. The film is set in contemporary Paris.

François is actually a nice fellow at heart but he is selfish. He has a very dynamic life running a boutique of antiques. He trades in lovely objects that has grown in value because of their age.

Bruno is a friendly taxi driver, affable and talkative with a beautiful but as yet unfulfilled dream.

The circumstances of their meeting and subsequent befriending is quite improbable but the depth of the story would not be possible to create without this unusual premise.

The banality of modern life would seem disquieting if all aspects of human life was reduced down to horse trading, making alliances purely based on an exchange of selfish interests. Friendship in the end has no price. The bartering must end somewhere as two human spirits look into each other's eyes and find a glimpse of affection.

In dealing with a very delicate subject, the principal actors must be commended for their very courageous and credible interpretations of two ordinary male souls.