HAUTE COUTURE

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https://cineuropa.org/film/411492/

Date Reviewed: 30/06/2022

Haute Couture is a simple tale, beautifully told.

Esther, a lead seamstress approaching the end of her career at the Dior Avenue Montaigne fashion house in Paris, has her handbag stolen on her way to work in the Metro by two young Algerian girls, Jade and Souad. When Jade later returns it to her workplace, she is surprisingly taken under Esther’s wing as an intern in a ‘beau geste’ (noble act) and is provided the opportunity to change her life forever. 

Written and directed by Sylvie Ohayon who won the Micki Moore Award at the Toronto Jewish Film Festival in 2016 for Papa was Not a Rolling Stone (2014) and who created and appeared in the French TV series Au Field de la Nuit, the film tackles a broad range of social issues which might so easily have come across as heavy-handed but are presented more delicately here by a skilled and controlled auteur.

This finesse can also be attributed to the powerful yet nuanced performances of the four leading characters who breathe life into the narrative.

Nathalie Baye, a multi-Cesar winning actress best known for Catch Me if You Can (2002) and Laurence Anyways (2012) shines as Esther. Her world is filled with style and beauty – rose gardens, tailored clothing and classical music but there is a sadness & loneliness in her world aligned to her lifelong commitment to work at the expense of family and friendships.

Algerian actress Lyna Khoudin, (The French Dispatch 2021 and Papich 2019), illuminates the screen with her portrayal of 20-something Jade, a grifter from a less desirable arrondissement, stuck at home with few prospects and looking after a mother with depression. Winner of the Most Promising Actress Cesar in 2021, Khoudin is clearly an actress on the rise and delivers a compelling performance around which all the others are built.

Jade’s friend and confidante, Souad, is artfully brought to life by Soumaye Bocoum, (Mortel 2019). She is the baseline by which we can observe Jade’s growth and yet, at the same time, herself changes after important realisations about the realities of the working world.

Also of note, and integral to the film are Pascale Arbillot who plays Catherine, a much-loved assistant in the design house and Claude Perron, who may be familiar from films such as Workinggirls (2012), a counterpoint as Andree, the officious colleague at Dior who does not readily accept Jade’s appointment.

Quite complex interpersonal relationships are beautifully conveyed by the cast. They work well off and with each other and the characters are all believable as their lives and perspectives change in different ways.

Visually, there is a real grittiness in the imagery of the housing estates and predominantly Arab community from which the girls hale. Ohayon immerses us into their world and highlights the many challenges of self-perception, pride and issues of acceptance.

Topics of racism and class distinctions are prevalent. Jade at one point declares “We are French” but throughout the film comparisons and stereotypes are repeatedly highlighted - “That’s so Jewish” or “That’s so Arab”. Souad uses the word “bourgeois” pejoratively, but the middle-class world of the seamstresses is shown to be a world of beauty and substance as they produce haute couture dresses for the upper-class elite. Assumptions about Jade’s trustworthiness are intrinsically linked to her background.

The film constantly plays with contrasts and parallels. 

The almost exclusively white, clean quietness of the atelier is contrasted to the 

colour and bustle of the housing estates. The quality of different types of clothing fabric is entertainingly discussed on a train ride as a sportwear label ‘s latest “collection” is dismissively laughed off. The soundtrack features several instances where different versions of songs are played back-to-back for effect. Music is an important element in the film and is carefully chosen to create an atmosphere for the many different montage scenes used.

Perceptions & distinctions of characters are continuously being compared – “rags“ are rather “pieces of silk”; worth is differentiated from price; and dressmaking is shown to be a “craft” rather than a “job; one is seen to nourish, the other only feeds.

Symbolism is also frequently used in the film. Roses blossoming and being tended and the feeding of bread to sparrows and pigeons reflect the primary relationship bonds between Esther and Jade. Crucifixes and crosses, churches, biblical names and Catholic, Arabic and Jewish iconography appear regularly. Washing of hands is a ritual at the workshop. 

Superstitions and traditions are shown to feature in both worlds – bad luck is attributed to acts such as the dropping of scissors and pricking of fingers, traditions abound such as the handing down of aprons on retirement.

One of the most important themes in the film is motherhood. Esther is clearly a positive maternal figure for Jade who in many ways is distanced from her own– something that Souad spells out to her when describing the seamstress as “a mother you’re not ashamed of”. At the same time, Jade offers Esther, estranged from her own daughter, a chance to have a meaningful connection with someone she can help nurture. Renee, an older embroider and herself a mentor to Esther, recognises that this element is missing from the retiring seamstress’ life and encourages their interaction. Dior is in many ways her “family”.

The film ends with a poignant scene that embraces the various worlds portrayed in the film and underlines Ohayon’s key messages that ultimately, we are not so unalike and that communities are stronger when people are true to themselves and more accepting of each other.

Haute Couture is a film that has depth and beauty that might resonate with the viewer long after it has finished. It raises important questions about society, how we view life and what is important to us at home and work. 

Whilst the fundamental plotline is somewhat improbable, particularly in this day-and-age, it serves as a timeless parable using many of the conventions of traditional mythological storytelling. 

Grab a latte and a croissant and immerse yourself in its world.

Reviewed by David Hislop