User Reviews

"Lost In Paris (2016 release from France/Belgium; 83 min. original title "Paris pieds nus") brings the story of Fiona and Dom. As the movie opens, Fiona gets a letter from her 88 yr. old aunt Martha, who's lived in Paris for decades but now cries out for help. Fiona does not hesitate, says goodbye to her Canadian village in the snowy mountains, and off she goes. When she gets to Paris, her aunt Martha is not home, forcing Fiona onto the streets and into all sorts if (mis)adventures. In a parallel story, we get to know Dom, a homeless guy who lives in a small tent on the banks of the Seine and finds the backpack that Fiona just lost. That very first night, by chance they meet in a restaurant... To tell you more of the plot would spoil tour viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

First of all, this movie is a labor of love of Fiona Gordon and Dominique Abel, who co-direct, co-produce, co-write and co-star in this movie. Here they bring a series of funny scenes, using a physical and visual kind of humor that is reminiscent of another age (Jacques Tati, of course, and many others), and which has become all but extinct in this day and age. The use of both the Paris Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower is done in a refreshing way. The movie clips by at a surprisingly fast tempo. But in the end it's all about the interplay between Fiona and Dom.

The movie opened recently without any pre-release hype or marketing at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati. I figured this would not be playing very long. The Tuesday early evening screening where I saw this at was attended okay but not great (less than 10 people). But I'll tell you what: almost everyone (including myself) laughed out loud on many occasions, and seemed to enjoy themselves. If you are in the mood for a physical and visual comedy the like of which we rarely get to see anymore, I readily recommend you check out "Lost In Paris", be it in the theater, on VOD or eventually on VD/Blue-ray.

Every now and then a film comes along that defies conventional genre labels. From its enticing title and zany opening scenes, the independent French-Belgium film Lost in Paris (2017)teases the senses with its mix of vaudeville/burlesque comedy and circus slapstick, all interleaved with a drama on ageing and, of course, a romance. Like all circus-style performance, any semblance of a story only serves to join the non-stop physical comedy into a narrative whole.

A timid librarian in Canada, Fiona (Fiona Gordon) has always dreamt of going to Paris. One day she learns that her 88-year old aunt Martha (Emmanuele Riva) has run away from her Paris home because the authorities want her in aged care. In Canadian Mountie style, she packs her knapsack and flies to France. Searching the streets of Paris, she meets Dom (Dominique Abel), a comic tramp keen to assist as well as help himself to whatever he can, The various adventure skits play out as if on a vaudeville stage but with Parisian scenery.

With a storyline as thin as this, you may wonder what holds the film together. Every scene contains a sight gag; some are downright corny, others whimsically cute. Like a door opens during a Canadian blizzard and everyone tilts forty-five degrees; Martha and her long-lost lover on a park bench dance only with their feet in a too-cute metaphor of synchronicity; and the top-heavy toppling into the Seine makes any cinema erupt in laughter. It's wonderful that anyone still makes films like this.

The three principals are more caricatures than people, both in appearance and performance. While this risks emotional disengagement from the cast, it also means comedy entertainment takes precedence over all else, unless you want to dig deeper. After all, life is offering the gawky-spinster Fiona a bigger purpose and a chance at love; fate calls on the vagabond Dom to rise above his lot; and Martha's mischief proves that age is just a number. But these are incidental messages to the film's unequivocal pursuit of laughter.

Comedy plays a serious role in absurdism by making us ask "why not?". Why shouldn't these three gentle misfits have some fun and why shouldn't a film resurrect the styles of Charlie Chaplin, The Three Stooges, or Laurel and Hardy? In these troubled times, we take life far too seriously.

Fiona, a strange Canadian woman from a snowy village, after the receive of a letter of despair from her aunt Martha decides to visit her in Paris. And let the show begins. Funny moments and unexplainable adventures for a mature woman who learns to explore the world from the beginning. The movie has its very funny moments to be really honest but in some scenes you can see that the imagination of filmmaker takes too far. It's a 83 min movie but achivies to make you check your clock about the time. Obviously it's not a masterpiece or one of a kind but in the context of an open air cinema is a movie to watch.

"Lost in Paris" is a Comedy movie in which we watch a woman going to Paris to visit her aunt but she gets into some bizarre situations and she has also to search for her. While she is searching for her aunt in Paris she meets a person that will change her life forever.

I found this movie clever and very funny since it was consisted of some simply hilarious scenes and some good interpretations. The direction which was made by Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon was very good and they both did a good job on how they presented their main character and her life. The interpretation of Fiona Gordon who played as Fiona, it was very good and in combination with the interpretations of both Emmanuelle Riva who played as Martha and Dominique Abel who played as Dom created this comedy movie. Lastly, I have to say that "Lost in Paris" is a funny comedy movie and I highly recommend everyone to watch ti because I am sure you will laugh a lot.

Wired but totally wonderful....... laughed out loud a few times ... belly laugh 😊🌸

'Lost in Paris' will be appreciated by a certain type of viewer. The one who cannot wait until the next film by Wes Anderson is released. If that viewer is you, I say, Abel and Fiona Gordon's 'Lost in Paris' is a must-see.

Me? I enjoyed Anderson's 'Hotel Budapest'; enjoyed it very much. And, Anderson-appreciation-wise, that's it and that's all. I must say that I simply don't 'get' his characters. There's something not fully 'there' about them; not in their movements, dialogue, thinking. I don't connect, not even on a whimsical level. Which is too bad as I wish this were not so.

In 'Lost in Paris' a Canadian spinster (Fiona Gordon) learns that her aunt has fallen ill in Paris. She rushes to her aunt's side only to learn that her aunt has disappeared. Enlisting the aid of a homeless man (Abel Gordon: homeless but romantic) the two finally set out to locate the old woman. Sadly (for me) these are Anderson-like characters. Can I say, 'Hyper-Anderson'?

There are marvelous camera-tricks and choreography along the way. Whether you enjoy the film or not, you will enjoy those moments. A soft-shoe dance. An Eiffel Tower escapade. A tent that somehow experiences orgasm. And a library door which should never be opened. And there are more. But overall .... overall I found myself somehow not rooting for but bothered by the characters.

And I don't think that was the film's intention.

While the quirky, humorous-looking preview we saw a week earlier for this movie looked encouraging, it disappointingly GROSSLY misrepresented what ended up being 83 near-torturous minutes of an inane hodgepodge of senseless, disconnected, amateurish stupidity that was difficult to endure.

Beyond the perpetually erect female lead going to Paris to visit her Aunt, there is really no plot, there is no humor, and there is nothing even remotely entertaining about it, whatsoever. We should have left early and got our money back and cut our losses, but we kept waiting/hoping for it to improve.

It didn't. It only got worse: the restaurant scene, the dancing shoes scene, the eulogy scene, etc., etc., etc.; just a tedious concoction of one vapidly idiotic scene followed by another.

Ignore the pseudo-intellectual and binge-reviewer ramblings, and spare yourself the insult of it all.

Comedy has many faces (verbal, farcical, deadpan, regressive, good- natured, satiric, nonsensical and more..., certain forms of humor overlapping each other in the same work) and I love them all. But I need to recognize I have a soft spot for a very special kind of "make'em laugh" movies, those engineered by Tati, Etaix, Suleiman, Iosseliani and their likes, among whom Abel & Gordon, the co-directors, co-writers, co- producers and co-stars of "Lost in Paris".

Like the former mentioned, the Belgian clown and his Canadian-born partner (Dominique Abel & Fiona Gordon have been partners since the 1980s) are not content to tread the usual paths of "funny movies", they manage on the contrary to create an offbeat universe of their own which they inhabit in a highly unusual way. Whether in "L'Iceberg", "Rumba", "The Fairy" or the present "Lost in Paris", they form an improbable couple, each - and in their own way - out of synch with their physical and social environment. In their last opus, Dominique Abel is Dom, a happy-go-lucky homeless guy who has pitched his tent on an artificial island in the middle of the River Seine. A distant cousin of Chaplin's eternal tramp, Dom equates poverty with liberty: he eats exclusively the food of the nearby luxury restaurant (yes, picked up from its garbage cans, but still!), he smokes the best cigarette brands (okay, just butts gathered from the sidewalk, but still!), the lot. And as is the case for Charlie, poverty does not make him an angel : although never rotten to the core, Dom can be selfish, disrespectful or unpleasant. As for Fiona Gordon, she plays an ageless Canadian librarian from the Far North (where it is not recommended to open doors to the outside, the object of two hilarious gags). After landing in Paris pack on back, events beyond her control soon cause her to be stranded alone in the big city. The helpless uptight spinster will of course be taken care of by Dom, but, as can be guessed, in a very singular manner. Such an odd pairing cannot but generate lots of funny unexpected situations of which the characters get out through gags of all kinds, mainly sight or poetical comic effects.

An excellent additional idea makes "Lost in Paris" even better than Abel & Gordon's first three efforts, namely the choice of Emmanuelle Riva, the famous actress ("Hiroshima mon amour", "Thérèse Desqueyroux", "Amour"), as Fiona's aunt. Known for her grave, intellectual, dramatic roles, Riva was also, unnoticed by those who did not mix with her in real life, a very cheerful person who hated taking herself too seriously. Who could then play eccentric old Martha better than her? The answer is obvious : nobody else..., but someone had to think of it! Also noteworthy is the participation of Pierre Richard, as Riva's old flame and dance partner. They have a delicious scene together where, sitting on a bench in a cemetery, they merrily allow their legs and feet to follow in step with a happy music of their golden years.

If you have nothing against imagination, fantasy and unusual gags (which I made a point of not describing not to spoil your pleasure of discovering them), this charming extravaganza should normally delight you as much as it did me. It is at least the worst thing I wish for you.

The girl playing the Canadian had the accent down pat. This movie was too cute for me and I didn't laugh. I liked the colors though.

This movie is theater of the absurd. You just have to float along with it and you will chuckle at the ridiculousness of it. It is full of little surprises and the scenery of Paris makes for a great backdrop.

I can understand why one person wrote a scathing, one-star review but that person must been expecting something very different. Don't have any expectations with this film, just follow along with the pointless silliness of it and you'll enjoy it.

(Flash Review)

A blatantly quirky Canadian woman heads to Paris to help her aging mother avoid moving into a nursing home. When she arrives she loses her luggage and money and can't locate her Mom. Bummer. Then she runs into a man who lives in a tent by the river who had found and taken her stuff including money. He splurges on a meal and meets the woman at a nice restaurant as she notices he's wearing her sweater. During this strange locate grandma adventure, this dude crosses her path awkwardly often as well as a couple other characters. Will she find hey way around Paris and will her grandma turn up? There is a lot of choreographed physical comedy and the sandpaper dry humor was accompanied by eclectic Euro music. For whatever reason, this ended up feeling very irritating, tedious and grating.

Quirky, some funny moments but the movie didn't live up to the trailer as often happens.

This is one of the funniest movies I've seen in a long time. I loved the slapstick and the facial expressions and postures of the two main characters. They were perfect together. One delightful scene was when the character Martha and her former lover dance while sitting on a bench, and all you see is their feet moving to delightful music. Ditto for the uproariously funny dance scene between Fiona and Don at Maxim's. The music "Swimming Song" by Loudon Wainwright III was delightful and accompanied the action so well! I loved the deadpan responses of many of the French people that Fiona and Dom came into contact with. Almost every scene was hysterically funny. I had to see it twice. The second time was even better.

I can only agree with the previous reviewer "One of best French / English movies I've ever seen." With a refreshing style this film had me laughing with guffaws and belly laughs within minutes from scene 2 right through to the end. The plot was simple and the principle characters Fiona Gordon, Emmanuelle Riva and Dominique Abel were a delight. Although the plot was simple it was embedded with amusing intrigue which ran and ran. Very well constructed, extremely funny and I will happily watch it again and again.

.. just what did happen to those socks?

So clever. The characters so likable. The humor so different. Dance routines original and entertaining (I'm not generally much of a 'song and dance' fan). Am going to put the other movies from this pair (Abel & Gordon) in my queue.

I need more Fiona and Dom. I've seen all of their movies which is only a few and it's not enough.If you haven't seen them, please do so. I do wish they made movies earlier in their career. Their newest film is another enjoyable ride leaving me wanting more. It's all there .. humor, love, cleverness, love, dancing, hope, even a political jab combining homelessness and what the Statue of Liberty represents. They provide relief from a world with too many dark moments. The world needs Fiona and Dom.

I'd never heard of Fiona Gordon or Dominique Abel before I plucked this disc off the shelf at my local library, and I've been missing out! They are so talented, performing with ease many difficult and amusing moves while eliciting sympathy for the characters, in the manner of Charlie Chaplin. Their dance together gave me the distinct impression that Ms. Gordon has had significant training, as only a trained dancer can make such silly moves look so graceful. I was also unfamiliar with Emmanuelle Riva, who is marvelous. Not everyone will love this film, but if you love Mr. Hulot, you will love this movie.

Reviewer Ibenot obviously missed the subtle nod to old silent movies. To say the scenes were disconnected seems to me that he/she didn't watch the whole film as they all connected in the end and that was the plot that I followed quite easily. The dancing shoes scene performed by two of France's iconic comedians was pure joy and sadly the wonderful Emmanuelle Riva died not long after this film was made. Seemingly she agreed to appear because of the Buster Keaton style it emulated. Perhaps Ibenot should have the lobotomy instead as this obviously went over his/her head.

So don't ignore the pseudo-intellectual ramblings but do ignore Mr/Mrs/Ms Ibenot and enjoy the 90minutes of classic comedy presented here.

No two ways about it. I loved this movie. It's brilliantly unique and unlike anything currently out there. The film is about a Canadian woman who receives a letter from her Parisian aunt indicating that she needs help. She goes to rescue her and along the way is equal parts hindered and helped by a vagrant who she feels an attraction to.

What makes the film so great isn't the plot, which is relatively simple, but the slapstick nature of the film. It owes more to Charlie Chaplin, silent films, and clowning than to anything else, though it does incorporate sound and colour quite beautifully.

The film is pretty much guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. Highly recommend this one.

I didn't see any of the earlier films of Fiona Gordon and Dominique Abel, and the two cooperate well over 20 years.Though the two moved into directing their movies more recently. So All I can say about this film will be based on what I saw in it, as is. It's obviously very funny, you won't find many that will disagree with it being charming too. It's sense of humor is goofy and very physical, and the two work very well together, just watch their dance scene and you can see how well they move with one another. No wonder that dancing seems to be an integral part of many of their movies. What I wish to point here is that this hilarious physical humor is clever too. Not only because making it all work demands very careful and clever writing. This sort of physical humor has to be very precise, and it must also seem to flow naturally, which calls for the highest level of coordination. But this movie also communicates with the past of its own stars. Just like the dance of Fiona and Dom refers too their previous movies, so for instance is Pierre Richard, as Norman during his own dance routine with the superb Emmanuelle Riva, loses one black shoe - the reference to his biggest role doesn't need any more details.

On top of all that, it's also important to mention that this is an ensemble of actors all working together in perfect coordination, and this is too something to behold.

One of best French / English movies I've ever seen. It's so darn funny, you will definitely lose oneself in the movie.

Must watch for people would like something unpredictable and not that usual humour.

Ok how long should I wait again to see a film like this in my life? The comedy that i keep searching for all the time. Very smart film.

Refreshing to see this light comedy not from the big studios with their lack of creativity and weightiness. Thoroughly enjoyed. No crazy effects, no big names, no formula, totally creative. We need more of these kinds of movies and less big studio, big name movies. This was an enjoyable night at the movies.

The Albuquerque Film Club just finished a twice-daily four-day run of the French-Belgian comedy, Lost in Paris (Paris pied nus). In the AFC's five years' of presenting nearly eighty films, seldom have we had as enthusiastic response to any film of any era or any nation. Literally hundred of patrons thanked the Guild Cinema management or me (the host) and said that Lost in Paris was wonderful, and many added was the best comedy they had seen in ages. Why? Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon, the husband & wife team at the center of Lost in Paris are very likely the most inventive, joyful and brilliant comedians in movies today. They studied physical comedy with famed Jacques Lecoq, but they are also skilled handling dialogue. Both look like ordinary people, as most of us do, but a bit stranger; still they make a believable and attractive romantic duo. Fiona plays a spinster librarian, brought from arctic Canada to Paris by a distress letter from her elderly aunt (played by French film icon Emmanuelle Riva (aged 88). There Fiona encounters Dom Abel, a bohemian scrounging the leftovers of Parisian life, not because he is society's cast- off, but because he is happy to be footloose and a bit of a rascal. I've now seen Lost in Paris four times. I laughed heartily at each showing, but by the third and fourth I was able to recognize how brilliantly constructed the script was, how well placed were the 'big moments', and how craftily Sandrine Deegan edited the film. Many comedians undermine themselves by trying to write, direct and star. In Lost in Paris, Dom and Fiona excel at all three skills. The ABQ Film Club Has Already booked their 2011 equally hilarious film, The Fairy (La Fee) for November 2017. Don't miss either movie.

One of the rare movies I've recently seen which has this clown charm, absurd comedy and gigs that remind me of Chaplin's black and white movies. Definitely this movie wont work for everyone but sure for people who like old comedy and a bit theatrical way of acting.