Opening 28 Jun 2012
Directed by:
Marc Fitoussi
Writing credits:
Marc Fitoussi
Principal actors:
Isabelle Huppert, Aure Atika, Lolita Chammah, Jurgen Delnaet, Chantal Banlier
Babou (Isabelle Huppert) is a free spirit. She lives for the moment without a partner or money - flits from job to job and place to place. Her daughter Esméralda (Lolita Chammah, who is Huppert's real life daughter) wants to fit in and lead a “normal” life. When she announces her marriage, she makes it clear that she doesn’t want to be embarrassed by her mother’s presence at the wedding. She will tell all that Babou is currently in Rio.
Babou is distraught at this news and decides to turn over a new leaf. She gets a job in Ostende, Belgium, marketing time-share apartments. Strangely enough, although she has always shunned competition and resisted the system, she succeeds in this job without even having had training. It is an eye-opening experience though to find that the manager of the firm is two-faced and has her fired because of a small indiscretion. A happy end though. Esméralda and Babou make up. Babou not only attends the wedding but finds a Brazilain music troupe to provide the entertainment.
Copacabana is an entertaining film and certainly has one important theme: that of mother/daughter relationships. But without Isabelle Huppert's presence the movie probably would not have been worthwhile seeing. With her it certainly is! (Thelma Freedman)
