A sweet, offbeat black comedy that never finds its focus, or maybe just hasnt got much to say, If You Die, Ill Kill You spins around a nice young Frenchman caught between a dead Kurdish pal and his passel of grieving relatives and acquaintances. Writer-director Hiner Saleem, whose Vodka Lemon poignantly described life in a small Armenian town, views Paris through an immigrants eyes and succeeds in catching the feeling of being an outsider in a foreign place. But apart from the luminous presence of Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani, theres not enough to look at here, and even festival fans (it already has played at several) might find time dragging.
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Its hard to believe that meek, tousle-haired Philippe (Jonathan Zaccai) has just got out of prison, and the fact is never mentioned again. He briefly befriends Avdal (Billey Demirtas), a handsome, mysterious Mideasterner who confides hes on a mission to assassinate an Iraqi traitor. So far, hes been unable to locate his victim. To help him earn some petty cash in the meantime, Philippe suggests he work as a gigolo. But minutes before his first rendezvous, Billey dies of a heart attack.
Philippe is too good-natured to walk away from the body, even if he barely knew the fellow, and he starts calling relatives back in Kurdistan to give them the bad news. He doesnt realize Avdals fiancee Siba (Farahani) is already on her way to Paris.
Groping its way through various registers, the film seems unable to pull off a straight black comedy; even if the material seems to be there, the laughs are not. Saleem doesnt appear to trust comedy to convey serious ideas -- for example, womens subordination to men in fundamentalist Islam -- so continually switches back to drama and breaks the flow.
The cast is pretty charming, however, and brightened by cameos from Jane Birkin and Maurice Benichou. Mylene Demongeot, seen in Saleems Beneath the Rooftops of Paris, has a nice supporting role as Philippes older landlady and sometimes lover. More awkward than amusing are a band of clownish Kurdish expats led by stand-up comic Ozz Nujen, who all have the hots for Siba. Farahanis wistful sophistication outclasses them all; overhearing the gents argue over who will marry the beautiful, defenseless Kurdish virgin, she throws open the door and demands, Who says Im a virgin?
Venue: Hong Kong Film Festival (Global Vision section)
Production companies: MACT Productions
Cast: Golshifteh Farahani, Jonathan Zaccai, Mylene Demongeot, Billey Demirtas, Ozz Nujen, Menderes Samancilar
Director-screenwriter: Hiner Saleem
Producer: Antoine de Clermont-Tonnerre
Director of photography: Manuel Teran
Editor: Emmanuelle Mimran
Sales Agent: Roissy Films
No rating, 95 minutes.
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