AiM 2009: La Maison Jaune (The Yellow House)
Ray Philp previews a sensitive Algerian road movie that recalls David Lynch's The Straight Story.
La Maison Jaune is part road movie, part neorealist commentary that revolves around Algerian farmer Mouloud and his efforts to console his wife after they receive news of the death of their son in a car accident. Amor Hakkar's film starts promisingly – Mouloud’s battered motorised tricycle, a ‘lambretta’, (hello, The Straight Story) is a handy device that allows the camera to linger on the picturesque gold and green hues of the Algerian countryside. However the film isn't without fault and attempts to weave social commentary throughout the film occasionally feels stilted and self-conscious. There is also at least one moment which feels somewhat contrived: you’re not supposed to laugh at the sight of Mouloud pulling his son’s coffin down the stair of a morgue like a tatty DFS sofa. Mouloud’s sputtering lambretta signifies all that is right and wrong with La Maison Jaune – it's nothing if not endearing, but the moments of misjudgment often undermine Hakkar's good intentions.