Le Gout Des Merveilles

Le Gout Des Merveilles is a wonderful French Film about otherness and love.

We meet Louise, a thirty- seven year old widow with two children, Emma and Fèlix, who is trying to make a life after her husband died in an accident. Franck, the husband, has left her his business, a farm of lavender and pear trees in the Provence where she owns a beautiful house.

Louise has no experience of how to lead the business and keeps struggling with all the obligations, the amount of work, and the support of her children. There never seems enough time for her daughter and son and the love and care they need, never enough money to keep the business flowing, let alone enough time to look after herself or her dreams.

One day, after a day at the market, Louise is driving home. She is very tired and argues with her teenage daughter on her mobile. A second of distraction, and her car hits a man who is walking in the middle of the street. It is Pierre and, as a result of the crash, he receives a minor head wound. Louse, with the intention to help him, recognises immediately that Pierre is different. Pierre does not want to come with her at first, but Louise persuades him to let her tend to his injury.

Louise, standing there with a reluctant Pierre near her car:
"What are we gong to do now? You can't stay here in the fields."

Pierre:
"I can stay here. It is not complicated. If I do not go anywhere I stay right where I am.  I do love your dress."

Pierre speaks these words entirely matter of fact, like a dissertation of a standard process. Louise, albeit bewildered by this reaction, takes him home with her. Since it is late by then, Louise offers Pierre an overnight stay at hers. Her house is beautifully situated, cosy rooms with a lot of lovely things like flowers, books, candles, cushions, blankets, pottery mugs and bowls. And it is untidy, chaos everywhere and all over the place. At breakfast the next morning the house has magically changed. Pierre has cleaned up over night, all the laundry is washed and ironed, items have been put back to shelves and arranged accurately to the mlllimetre. Louise and the kids also notice that Pierre is obsessed with numbers and the weather forecast. A leather case with a laptop is his constant companion.

Fittingly, Louise has an appointment with her bank, and so she takes Pierre to his home. Soon enough she learns that he lives in the stock room of a book shop, there she also meets the owner of the store, Jules. Jules is like a father for Pierre, he looks after him since he was a child. Having a coffee together, Louise tries to find out more about Pierre.

Louise:
"What is wrong with him?"

Jules:
"Wrong?" [Jules does not understand her question and looks at her quite puzzled]

Louise:
"He is.....different..."

The story, so it seems, could be over at this point, but, of course it is not. Only a few days later Louise and the children wake at night because of some tumult that seems to happen in the orchard. Pierre is out there in the middle of the night and lights fires between the pear trees. In the evening he had checked the weather forecast and a frost warning was issued. Louise, Emma, Fèlix and Pierre work all night to be rewarded with the knowledge that no harm was done to the plants.

In a side plot we learn that Pierre was diagnosed with Asperger- Syndrome when being a boy. He is also wanted by the police because he, accidentally whilst in search for a rare piece of literature for Jules' birthday, had hacked the security system of the French Ministry for Defense. 

Nonetheless, there is a lot of sympathy between Louise and Pierre. She is the queen of chaos, but a very affectionate, understanding and open woman. He is the boy who never fits in, a brutally honest speaker of his mind, an attentive observer of the world and its details in particular. His way to love a woman and other people, his totally lack of charm, is sometimes alien to us, yes, but when you allow yourself to look deeper into his personality he is undoubtedly adorable and captivating. Louise quickly recognises that he is the man she needs in her life. First and foremost for herself to love, and as a friend to her children.

However, until this can happen, the two of them have to walk through many awkward and close to insulting moments, also lovely situations created by Pierre's overly attentive observations and reactions. It is funny and very entertaining, especially when you watch it in French!

Louise:
"What on earth are you doing!" [Seemingly out of the blue, Pierre kneels down and grabs her ankle]

Pierre:
"Your shoelace has loosened."

The film does not provide a thorough look into the Asperger- Syndrome. This is our task to do after watching, and I am sure that people who live with the syndrome, or their relatives, would appreciate very much if we do.

The chosen titles (Le Gout Des Merveilles in French; A Sense of Wonder in English) are not very fitting to the story, they are too trivial and tawdry in my opinion.

What about finding another one? Do Clouds Have a Heartbeat? This is my suggestion, and if you have the time to watch the film you will find out why.

One last thing. The film is a gem when it comes to cinematography. There is one person in this world who has taught me to see and to find the beauty in shots, angles, close- ups, colours, positions of protagonists, and framing. Thank you, my love.

References: Camera One Pulsar Productions; IMBd; https://www.arte.tv/fr/; ARD; RBB