GFF 2013: Populaire

Glasgow Film Festival 2013 opens with Populaire, Régis Roinsard's French take on the Pygmalion myth. Sure to appeal to those with a taste in gendered work environments, vintage tailored dresses, and niche office-sport events, fashion-savvy cinéastes have never had it better .

The picture stars Romain Duris (Heartbreaker) as Louis, a former athlete with daddy issues, and Déborah François (The Page Turner) as Rose, his clumsy secretary turned protégé. Scored by a relentless onslaught of typewriter dings, this gleefully predictable comedy unfolds at a brisk pace as the businessman sets about transforming Rose into his ideal of womanhood. Wryly revelling in the film's misogynistic 1950s setting, Roinsard keeps his women on the right side of revisionist feisty and imbues his charming array of characters with sufficient backstory and room for growth. A gaudy marathon, the unlikely heroine's journey is kept light and frothy, ideal for opening night. [Nicola Balkind]