THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 14, 1994 TAG: 9412140043
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Movie Review
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
``A LA MODE,'' from France, is a frothy but highly entertaining coming-of-age farce in which an orphaned boy is adopted by a Jewish tailor in Paris and emerges as an offbeat, kooky fashion designer.
Written and directed by Rene Duchemin, it goes more for light, sunny fun rather than satire or social commentary. It's one of the more fluffy entries in the current, and highly successful, Virginia Festival of Jewish Film at the Naro Expanded Cinema in Norfolk.
Ken Higelin turns in a fresh-faced and wide-eyed performance as the orphan who makes good. He's apprenticed to an old-fashioned, traditional tailor played with an amusing knack for shocked reactions by Jean Yanne (seen locally in ``Madame Bovary'').
The Christian boy learns much in the Jewish home, but opportunities for comments on cultural and religious contrasts are largely ignored in favor of lightness.
Young Higelin learns the value of advertising as he parades around Paris with garish billboards to push his mentor's tailor shop. He goes further afield when he begins designing hip, spangled and garish outfits to grab the attention of the Parisians of the swinging '60s. The tailor is shocked at the outfits but eventually adjusts, reluctantly, to the new success.
Of course, the boy finds a girl friend and, of course, he grows up.
The film, which will be shown tonight at 8 and Thursday at 6 p.m., is one of the less important movies in the festival. It is, however, likely to be one of the more entertaining crowd-pleasers.
It is a trifle, but a cheerful one. ILLUSTRATION: MOVIE REVIEW
``A La Mode''
Cast: Ken Higelin, Jean Yanne
Director and Writer: Rene Duchemin
MPAA rating: R (some nudity)
Mal's rating: two and 1/2 stars
Locations: Naro Expanded Cinema in Norfolk
by CNB