La Vieille Dame indigne

81-year-old Sylvie is magnificent in this adaptation of Brecht's fable about an old woman who suddenly starts a new life of delightful irresponsibility after the death of her husband, wonderfully wry and funny as she breaks out of a lifetime of devoted household drudgery to enjoy a round of whipped cream sundaes, movies and fast cars. Equally (or more) importantly, Allio never loses sight of Brecht. For the first time in her life, in her new friendship with the local whore (Ribovska) and an anarchist shoemaker (Bouise), the old lady begins to respond to people on their own terms instead of out of duty. Meanwhile her family, outraged at her irresponsibility, are seen to be irresponsibly frittering away their lives, toiling at jobs which serve only to build prisons for their souls. Witty, wise and gently funny, it is also, in its quiet way, a genuinely subversive film.