Moutonnet: A rural ego gets bruised in the big city

Is it worth your time?

If you like movies that feel a bit dusty and enjoy watching a guy’s ego slowly deflate, yeah, watch it. If you need pacing, high stakes, or a hero you actually want to root for, you’re going to be bored out of your mind. This isn’t a grand drama; it’s just a portrait of a guy who needs to be taken down a peg.

Noel-Noel plays the title character with this grating, infectious kind of confidence. He walks like he owns every pasture he sets foot in. When he hits Paris, the movie does a great job of making the city feel like an indifferent monster. It doesn’t hate him, which is worse—it just doesn't see him at all.

That Paris disappointment

The middle act is where the movie gets uncomfortable. There’s a scene where he’s waiting around that just feels like a long, drawn-out sigh. The transition from his rural swagger to his city-slicker humiliation isn't handled with big speeches, just a lot of awkward stares and people looking right through him. Ouch.

Sometimes the camera just hangs there on his face for a second too long after someone shuts a door on him. It’s a bold choice, or maybe just a bit of sloppiness that works. I couldn't tell, but I liked it.

• Michel Simon is in this, which is always a treat even when he’s playing second fiddle.
• The horse trading scenes feel weirdly authentic compared to the glossy stuff in The Moon's Our Home.
• There’s a lot of walking. Like, a lot of walking down hallways that go nowhere.

It’s not perfect. The script feels like it’s missing a few pages, or maybe it just didn't care about the plot holes. Either way, it’s a strange little artifact. If you've ever felt like an idiot for expecting someone to treat you like a celebrity, you'll recognize this feeling instantly. It’s a movie for the humble, but it’s mostly for the people who think they’re special. Go figure. 🐎