Populaire

COMING SOON: Regis Roinsard's Populaie (France, 2012) - Surely the first period rom-com to centre on the speed-typing competitions that were all the rage in the 1950s, commercials director Regis Roinsard’s first feature delivers a sparkling Gallic take on what feels like a vintage Hollywood love story. Though the romance between the ambitious trainer-boss played by Romain Duris and Deborah Francois’ gifted typist protégée-secretary follows a well-trodden narrative path, complete with pride-fuelled misunderstandings and third-act setbacks, the chemistry between the two leads is positively nuclear, and the film’s effervescent, spot-on evocation of the period in its visual style and soundtrack is a joy to absorb.