It's one hour and one minute long, and it's a petite gem. Revolving entirely around the
personality of its main actor, the amazing Jean-Chretien Sibertin-Blanc, "Augustin" tells
of a stuttering, bumbling office clerk who occasionally doubles as an actor. He's only
landed bit parts in commercials only industrial films (his meatiest stint was portraying a
fish smuggler in a B-type TV series), but he knows and feels his acting career is about to
take off. Or it would, weren't Augustin such a clueless wreck.
Welcome to Klutzland--as seen through the eyes of a Klutz. Whether he answers a casting
call (a hilarious turn by French star Thierry Lhermitte) or checks on comatose patients for
his part-time insurance company job all the while meticulously researching the big role (a
room-service waiter in a classy hotel), Augustin slowly imposes a vision of the world (and
of success) that obeys intriguingly "different" but oddly coherent rules.
With Sibertin-Blanc finding the right mix of witlessness and charm, not to mention timing,
Anne Fontaine keeps her movie brisk, bright, clever--and droll.
Back to 1995 New York Film Festival Reviews
Back to Augustin
Back to the Press Room
Copyright 1994-2008 Film Scouts LLC
Created, produced, and published by Film Scouts LLC
Film Scouts® is a registered trademark of Film Scouts LLC
All rights reserved.
Suggestions? Comments? Fill out our Feedback Form.
