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 PAULINE
& PAULETTE. DVD. Belgium. 2002. Drama. Approx 80 minutes. Rated
PG. Flemish with English subtitles. After her caretaker sister suddenly
dies, mentally-challenged 66 year-old Pauline goes to live with her other
sister Paulette, who she greatly admires. Instantly disrupting
Paulette’s work and personal life, Pauline is sent packing to Brussels
to live with their big city sister Cecile and her butt monkey boyfriend.
However, living in Brussels doesn’t work out and Pauline finds her way
back to Paulette. Troubled at first by Cecile’s inability and
non-interest in caring for Pauline, Paulette realizes feelings she’s
never felt before and tries her best to make things work.
Pauline & Paulette is a very sweet story, albeit it in a rather
dark way, while being a bit troubling as well. The sweetness oozes mostly
from Pauline and her child like, playful demeanor and her ability to get
joy out of the smallest things; colorful paper, toast with jelly, and just
being close to Paulette. The troubling part is witnessing how hard it can
be when people are suddenly forced to care for a “less fortunate”
sibling and knowing this happens every day in real life. It has to be
hard. Hollywood drones may have a hard time watching two 60+ year old
women playing the lead roles, but Dora van der Groen (reminds me of my
eighth grade teacher, Mrs. Glennon) shines as Pauline and Ann Petersen
(reminds me of Rosemary Clooney) does a great job playing Paulette. The
DVD includes commentary by Director Lieven Debrauwer and trailers. Guys,
this is a good one to watch with the woman to score points on the “how
in touch are you with your emotions” scale. – Denis Sheehan
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