The Fairy (La Fée) is a whimsical French-language film, the third released by Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon, and Bruno Romy, a Belgian trio of writers, actors, and directors. The story follows the relationship of Fiona, the titular “fairy”, and Dom, the front desk manager at a dingy French motel. Their socially-awkward yet humorously romantic chemistry becomes apparent immediately as the ethereal (yet distinctly human) Fiona tells Dom he may have three wishes. Dom, a simple man with simple dreams, requests only a Vespa and unlimited gas to fuel his travels. Dom’s Vespa sets him on a journey that will lead him to his ultimate wish.
The filmmakers’ satirical, auteurist vision is brought to life by their unique approach to comedy. In a film culture saturated with overwrought romantic comedies, 2011’s The Fairy is a refreshing homage to the strictly physical comedy of the silent film era, specifically filmmakers like Jacques Tati and Charlie Chaplin. Since the film minimizes the use of dialogue to boldly accentuate the silent physicality of its comedic bits and emphasize its surrealist visuals, it feels as though it could cultivate the same comedy and aesthetic as a silent film. The characteristically melodramatic facial expressions and theatrical gestures of the cast are expertly fused with the symmetrical cinematography, color palette, and set design of a European arthouse film. Thus, the film often feels as if Keaton’s One Week (1920) were directed by Jean Renoir, blending physical comedy and avant-garde art direction into a quirky yet cohesive viewing experience.
While the narrative events aren’t always threaded together by clear causality, the occasionally dissonant transitions between scenes and moods lend themselves to the surreal dream-like logic of the story. Without the aid of dramatized dialogue, the film is able to maintain momentum by using a dynamic range of comic tones underlying the physical gags. For example, a simple scene depicting Fiona jogging becomes a comic spectacle when she runs away from an angry mob with her upper body as stiff as a board, in humorous contrast to her accelerating legs. The film balances scenes with a dark humor and others with a relatable minuteness to the comedy.
In addition to their roles as mimes, auteurs, and actors, Fiona and Dom also dance in several dance break scenes that function as a dreamy escape from the narrative. In their first avant-garde pas de deux, Fiona and Dom dance together with the passionate vigor of ballroom dance but within the kitschy aesthetic of a fishbowl. In addition to appropriating themes and imagery from distinct film genres, the trio’s experience in circus and theater is a testament to the film’s ability to marry film with other mediums of art without having to recycle the tired tropes of a “movie musical”. As demonstrated by its fusion of genres and art forms, The Fairy demonstrates the avant-garde’s ability to have the same “world building” effect as its mainstream franchise counterparts. Unlike the Marvel Comics Universe, for instance, which sprawls across multiple films, television programs, and video games, The Fairy cultivates its own universe and cosmology in a single film. While the world of the film certainly lacks the broad scope of commercial blockbusters, it is uniquely distinctive due to its visual style and slapstick comedy.
The Fairy exists in a timeless, stylized realm in which generic conventions are recycled but also redefined. Abel, Gordon, and Romy mount a brave and spectacular production free of any pixie dust but loaded with whimsical visuals and unique physical comedy that transport the viewer to a French land of fairies and farce.
Ben Helscher is a sophomore in Columbia College.