Evocative escapism

A Mermaid in Paris (M, 103 mins) Directed by Mathias Malzieu Reviewed by James Croot ★★★★1⁄2 In French with English subtitles

Abeautiful, crowd-pleasing blend of Amelie and The Shape of Water, with more than a dash of Splash, this charming French romantic fantasy is filled with memorable imagery, music and characters.

Gaspard (Nicolas Duvauchelle) is a singer at the famous, but fading bargecabaret the Flowerburger, who croons to try to ease the pain of his broken heart.

However, his platform for working through his sorrow may be about to disappear. A restaurant chain is a willing buyer and owner (Gaspard’s father) Camille (Tcheky Karyo) sadly knows now may be the right to time to sell. The river is starting to flood more regularly and, in recent times, some of their punters have simply disappeared after a night of revelry.

Rumours persist of a siren song, calling them to their doom, a fairystory Gaspard doesn’t believe until Lula (Marilyn Lima) literally washes up on the Flowerburger’s doorstep. Injured and clearly in pain, Gaspard borrows a TukTuk to rush her to hospital, but rather than being able to treat her, one look is all it takes for the attending doctor’s heart to fatally start beating out of control.

Gaspard relocates her to his bathroom, fills his tub with water and frys her up some fish fingers.

As she starts to regain her strength, Lula reveals she can only last ‘‘two sunrises’’ away from her aquatic home, but worries that her ‘‘allure’’ will eventually overwhelm even him well before then.

But while Gaspard looks for a solution to return her safely, Lula’s curiosity and clumsiness has the potential to cause disaster and the dead doctor’s fiancee is seeking answers and justice.

Director and co-writer Mathias Malzieu’s first liveaction feature is a real charmer. It has a juxtaposition between the dark and the light, the melancholy and the euphoric – and a textural, tactile look – that evokes the same engrossing and uplifting spirit of tales like The Science of Sleep, Mood Indigo or A Very Long Engagement.

Helping sell the magic are two terrific turns from Duvauchelle and Lima, the latter likely to send a few audience hearts a flutter, but grounded by embracing the more troubling side of her ‘‘powers’’.

For those needing a break from the winter blues, this is a perfect slice of evocative escapism.

A Mermaid in Paris is now screening in select cinemas nationwide.