Movie Review: “Janis et John”
Last night, SBS showed a lovely film, Janis et John
Pablo Sterni (Sergi López) is a desperate insurance broker. He hatches a scheme to dupe his brain-adled cousin , Léon (Christopher Lambert), out of half a million francs to pay a claim on an insurance policy that he took the money for, but didn’t process. Pablo’s idea? Get his house-mouse wife and an actor to appear to Léon as his long-lost idols, John Lennon and Janis Joplin, and have them hit Léon up for the money.
The film features a stand-out performance by Marie Trintignant as a Brigitte Sterni, a down-trodden housewife who blossoms when she begins impersonating Janis Joplin. Sadly, Trintignant died just a few months after the movie came out.
A great premise, fun acting, and an absence of nudity (What? On SBS?) and violence made this a fun film. There was some really striking photography, including an image of Brigitte driving where a single drop of rain on the windscreen represents her crying - fabulous.
And ultimately, a good message about finding the creative person inside you who needs to come out, and giving them the air to do so.