''French Twist'' (french: Gazon maudit) is a cult 1995 French comedy film. It was written and directed by

Josiane Balasko Josiane Balasko (born Josiane Balašković; 15 April 1950) is a French actress, writer, and director. She has been nominated seven times for César Awards, and won twice. Career One of Balasko's most recognized roles among English speakers is ...

. The film was one of very few French films to have a dubbed version for English audiences. Its title in French is untranslatable but 'Cursed Lawn' is a close approximation. It also refers to the shaving (or not) of pubic hair, a subtle joke in French alluding to the subject matter of the film. The film was selected as the French entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the

68th Academy Awards The 68th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 1995 in the United States and took place on March 25, 1996, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beg ...

, but was not accepted as a nominee.

Plot

Laurent ( Alain Chabat) and Loli (

Victoria Abril Victoria Mérida Rojas (born 4 July 1959), better known as Victoria Abril, is a Spanish film actress and singer based in France. She is possibly best known to international audiences for her performance in the film ''Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!'' by ...

) are a thirty-ish married couple living in southern France with their young children. He is an estate agent; she is a housewife. Laurent has extramarital affairs. Loli is unaware that her husband is unfaithful. Then one day, a campervan breaks down in front of their house. The driver is Marie-Jo (

), a 40s-ish butch lesbian who works as a DJ. She asks to use their phone. Loli has a blocked sink, so in exchange for using the phone, Marie-Jo gets Loli's drain back in working order. Loli and Marie-Jo begin an affair. Laurent is upset, but then his friend Antoine (

Ticky Holgado Ticky Holgado (24 June 1944, in Toulouse – 22 January 2004, in Paris), pseudonym of Joseph Holgado, was a French actor and a frequent collaborator with Jean-Pierre Jeunet. With ''Delicatessen'' (1991) by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro, Tic ...

) accidentally reveals Laurent's philandering to Loli. This seems to justify her romance. Marie-Jo moves into the house. Antoine then suggests that Laurent let Loli have her way, cease all hostility, and wait for the affair to burn out. Laurent agrees, and the household becomes a seemingly idyllic ''ménage à trois''. But his strategy has its effect, especially after another lesbian couple, old friends of Marie-Jo, happen by. Laurent welcomes them, but Loli becomes annoyed and jealous. Marie-Jo decides that the situation is not really going to work. She knows that Laurent wants her to leave. While Loli is away on a trip, Marie-Jo makes a deal with Laurent. She will break up with Loli and leave immediately, if Laurent will give her something she has wanted for years: a baby. Laurent has sex with Marie-Jo to get her pregnant, and Marie-Jo departs before Loli returns. Laurent tells Loli nothing, as agreed with Marie-Jo. Laurent and Loli settle back down to their old life, but their relationship has been deeply affected. Then Loli hears from a mutual acquaintance that Marie-Jo is living in Paris and is several months pregnant. Loli is astonished and shocked. She insists that she and Laurent go to Paris and contact Marie-Jo. They find her working as a DJ in a lesbian dance club. Their intrusion provokes a quarrel with the club owner, who fires Marie-Jo. Loli and Laurent take her back to their home, where she has her baby. The ''ménage à trois'' is re-established, with the two mothers caring for their children. As Laurent goes to buy a bigger a house, he finds the seller, a handsome Spaniard (Miguel Bosé), in his swimming pool. The two then share a breakfast while gazing into each other's eyes.

Cast

as Loli *

as Marie-Jo * Alain Chabat as Laurent *

as Antoine *

Catherine Hiegel Catherine Hiegel (born 10 December 1946) is a French actress, comedian and director. Personal life Catherine Hiegel is the daughter of Pierre Hiegel, radio host, music critic, radio producer and artistic director of French houses of discs. Sh ...

as Dany * Michèle Bernier as Solange * Catherine Samie as The Prostitute * Katrine Boorman as Emily Crumble * Miguel Bosé as Diego *

Blanca Li Blanca Li, originally Blanca María Gutiérrez Ortiz (born January 12, 1964) is a Spanish choreographer, film director, dancer, and actress. She has created choreographies for the Paris Opera Ballet, The Berlin Ballet, the Metropolitan Opera, ...

as a Client

Development

Josiane Balasko called making a film involving lesbianism "a difficult challenge, since all I had as references on the subject were movies made mostly by men about men; male homosexuality has been shown on the screen thoroughly, unlike lesbianism, which has been kept silent and taboo." The film was presented to the

Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...

, in October 1995. With her nomination to the

César Award for Best Director This is the list of winners and nominees of the César Award for Best Director (French: ''César du meilleur réalisateur''). History Superlatives Winners and nominees 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Multiple wins and nomination ...

, Josiane Balasko is the sixth woman in history to be nominated in this category, after

Ariane Mnouchkine Ariane Mnouchkine (; born 3 March 1939) is a French stage director. She founded the Parisian avant-garde stage ensemble ''Théâtre du Soleil'' in 1964. She wrote and directed ''1789'' (1974) and ''Molière'' (1978), and directed ''La Nuit Mirac ...

, Agnès Varda, Coline Serreau, Christine Pascal and Nicole Garcia.

Awards

References

External links