Country: France
Movie Review: Ruben Alves’ directorial debut “The Gilded Cage” puts face-to-face Portuguese immigrants and French bosses in order to create a simple but amusing social comedy of errors. Maria (Rita Blanco) and José (Joaquim de Almeida) make a typical Portuguese couple who have been working in France for 30 years, becoming indispensable in their jobs. Maria works as a concierge in a building, while José is supervisor in a construction company. When they are informed about an heritage left by Jose’s brother, the couple ponders return to Portugal, but their bosses will do everything to keep their hard working employees and the doubt will be installed since their own children are French. To complicate even more the decision, the couple’s daughter assumes to be in love with the son of her dad’s boss. The film addresses quite well the spirit of the immigrants who live to work and save money for one day get back to their origin country. The film boasts a certain success as comedy, playing with culture differences, feelings of inferiority, and language puns, to create hilarious scenes without ever being offensive or derogatory. Rich on visuals and music, but with a modest direction, “The Gilded Cage” will say much more to the Portuguese and French, especially considering that many funny language expressions can be lost when translated. In this family comedy with several aspects to be enjoyed, actresses Rita Blanco and Chantal Lauby excelled.
