Macadam Stories

Tales from an old apartment building!

A little multi-layered French comedy. The making was not unusual, but the storyline was. Based on the autobiography of the director. There could be more to come, so a sequel is possible like the Roy Andersson's 'Living' trilogy. There was similarity is style of storytelling, yet it was more clear on what it narrated for us.

I'm not sure of the timeline, but it seems at least 10-20 years back. Guessing it with the settings. It was about the lives in an apartment building. Divided into three layers, the first one was about a man living on the second floor who never uses the elevator. But the time comes for him without other options. He meets a nurse in her break and befriends. So it continues for days.

On the second tale, an American astronaut becomes a guest in one of the residences where an old immigrant lady lives. Coming to the third and final, a teenage boy meets an actress who recently moved in to the next door. Their's friendship growing despite the generation gap was focused on. How all these tales begins and ends were the fun to watch.

-xX] It's weird to see you in the film. It's like you're a different person, from another life. [Xx-

From all, Isabelle Huppert's presence made my curiosity about the film. She's the one who played an aging actress, I think she was good. Everybody else as well, quite good. Because it was not a high budget sci-fi film. But about individuals. Their lifestyle, profession and looking for something anew in life. So that's what makes the story, when they meet different people out of their normal surroundings.

Each character was distinctive. So it was hard to predict the outcome, yet feels so close to familiarity with everything that happened. Not a straight comedy, it was more of a black-comedy. Though some parts were sensible. The blend of life drama and comedy with the wonderful performances lifted the film. Michael Pitt was the other familiar face in it. They kind of made fun of the American space agency, while the Hollywood acknowledging with super higher end products.

So, this is like another under-noticed film. But it is not like deserves major attention, except if you a cinephile. Other than that if you want to try it, then you should too. It surely won't disappoint. People hunt films with big names, but such small films like this can deliver somewhat better than those big flicks. I was a little late to watch it, in the end, I'm happy I did it. Now I want to spread the word, that it is definitely not an ignorable title for those who haven't heard about it. So thumbs up!

7/10