With "Jeanne and the perfect guy" (1998), we can be grateful to the duo Olivier Ducastel/Jacques Martineau for a thing: having lent credibility again to French musical. A cinematographic genre whose golden age was in the sixties but which had somewhat sunk into oblivion at the end of the twentieth century.
It is the story of Jeanne (Virginie Ledoyen) who works as a receptionist in a travel agency. She lives a simple life and waits for the love of her life. She is persuaded that she found him with Olivier who also shows love for her. But he disappears overnight. He has his reasons: he is HIV positive. But Jeanne persists. She absolutely wants to spend her life with him. Given that Olivier is HIV positive and his days are numbered, it is probably Jeanne who is right.
We can see it: the film-makers have chosen a delicate and bleak topic. However, we couldn't attribute the two quoted topics to the presented treatment. Indeed, Ducastel and Martineau's work is bursting with joy of living and loving. It contains ravishing songs which often come out of the blue but they integrate well into the plot. There's also a luminous photography with sparkling colors, a light making. In the content and form, it is a beautiful tribute to Jacques Demy's universe that the two authors offer us. Besides, Olivier's role is held by the latter's son: Matthieu Demy.
The problem of AIDS is tackled without sentimentality and the film-makers avoid useless pathos. They also succeed in creating emotion in front of Matthieu's life broken by this terrible disease.
As for Virginie Ledoyen, she confirms all the good we can think of her. With all that's been previously said, we can conclude by saying that "Jeanne and the perfect guy" is a light and shiny movie which enables to believe in love and in happiness. It would also reconcile anyone with life. The two authors have surely been satisfied with the result because they won't hesitate to use a second time, their magic system: pessimist topic/optimist treatment for their next movie: "Drôle de Félix" (2000). For this film, AIDS will still be at the background but musical will have given ground to the road-movie. Of course, this movie will reach the same goal as "Jeanne": to believe in love and happiness.
