Mammuth (2010)
Certified: 16
Duration: 92 minutes
Directed by: Benoît Delépine, Gustave de Kervem
Starring: Gérard Depardieu, Yolande Moreau, Isabelle Adjani, Miss Ming, Benoît Poelvoorde, Philippe Nahon, Bouli Lanners, Serge Larivière, Dick Annegarn
KRS release
Under the direction of Benoît Delépine, Mammuth is a combin-ation of comedy and human drama that finds a voice in its main protagonist – Gérard Depardieu. In fact, the film lives and dies on the actor’s strong and almost elegiac performance.
The film almost makes him (Depardieu) a symbol of the working class- Johan Galea
Depardieu plays Serge Pilardosse, a worker in the 1970s, who is as gruff as can be and has recently retired. He is also known as Mammuth, which is the nickname of his old motorbike.
Life seems to be at an end when his friends organise a retirement farewell party in – of all places – a slaughterhouse.
Meanwhile, he has to sort out all the paperwork to get his retirement benefits because most of his employers never filed anything on his behalf.
His wife Catherine (Yolande Moreau) encourages him to pay them all a visit to sort out whatever is still needed.
As the film’s lens follows him on this voyage, we start seeing a different Serge. He wants to connect with his past and, most of all, with his first love Yasmine (Isabelle Adjani), who still haunts him from a bloody incident that he cannot forget.
Obviously enough, along the way he meets people with whom he connects and who inadvertently change his life. Some of these sub-plots are comical, others are much more off-beat but, in some way or another, all seem to form part of the jigsaw puzzle thatis life.
First of all, Serge is not really such a nice person. His look is reminiscent of Mickey Rourke’s image from The Wrestler but, more than that, he seems to be always out of synch with those around him.
Yet the film makes him almost a symbol of the working class, a man fighting for his retirement pension even though by the end of the voyage, this ‘fight’ takes on other meanings.
It is evident that Depardieu has invested a lot in this characteris-ation. His role as a man who is past his prime and about to be swept under the carpet, but who stands up against his destiny and refuses to be swept away, is indeed very touching.
French icon Moreau delivers some emotional comic moments, especially when she tries to cope with automated call centres. Miss Ming in a cameo role is simply a show stealer.
Amidst all the themes in the film, one notices how much the script by Delépine and Gustave de Kervem highlights the injustices workers face in their lives.
The film changes tempo and pace at every whim of the directors-writers, but it does not go overboard and keeps the comedy aspect intact. This makes the film even more admirable.
Mammuth also has touches of nostalgic romanticism and a sense of pride, with Depardieu emerging the winner.