Release Date: 2 December 2004 (Exclusively at Cathay Cineplex Orchard)

Synopsis :

This is the story of Lolita Cassard, a 20-year-old girl who is angry at the whole world because she doesn't look like the girls in the magazines, nor like her step-mother, and who would so love to be beautiful, at least in the eyes of her father or even have him look at her at all.

But it's also the story of a man, Etienne Cassard, who doesn't look at other people very much because he spends so much time looking at himself, he can feel himself getting older, he too knows what it's like to be unloved, and because he's had to fight to get where he is.

It's the story of a writer, Pierre Miller, who doesn't believe in it anymore, and who doesn't believe he'll ever become successful until the moment when he does and when he meets Etienne Cassard.

It's the story of a singing teacher, Sylvia Miller, who believes in her husband and in his talent, but who doubts her own and that of her pupil Lolita, until the moment when she realises she's the daughter of Etienne Cassard, that author she admires so much.

Movie Review:

Comme Une Image (Look at Me) is a wonderful and rich French film that examines the human mind’s idolization of others and insecurities with oneself through the different characters in this film. Other aspects of this film touch on how people could easily become corrupted by fame and how people could be so caught up with themselves that they are no longer able to relate with people around them.

The young female protagonist of this film, Lolita --- magnificently played by Marilou Berry, is a teenager that is worried about her weight and image. To make matters worse, her stepmom is around her age and looks more like those girls in the magazines than she does. It doesn’t help Lolita’s self-confidence when her father pays more attention to her stepmom and his younger daughter rather than her.

Lolita’s father, Etienne Cassard is a successful writer but success caused his head to swell and he no longer seems to respect the people around him. Etienne, played by Jean-Pierre Baci is one of the most endearing prima donnas I have seen in a long time. His comments could be bitting at times, yet it would be hard to fault him.

Lolita’s teacher, Sylvia Miller, played by the director, Agnes Jaoui, adds another dimension into this film. Sylvia is smitten by Lolita’s father’s talent in writing and would even give extra singing coaching to Lolita in order gain greater access to her idol, Etienne Cassard. However as Sylvia spends more time with her idol, she begins to see another aspect of her idol which lacks “idolatry” in her dictionary.

This film won the Best Screenplay at the last Cannes film festival and it not difficult to see why. The plot flows seamlessly and all the different characters’ dilemmas and choices are well explored. All the characters are well linked together and they each have a different story to tell.

I would recommend this film to folks who enjoy films that are not over-dramatized, yet contain brilliant reflection of their normal daily lives. If you want a change from the normal Hollywood blockbuster diet, "Look at Me" will serve as a delightful change of flavour.

Movie Rating: B

Review by our columnist, Richard Lim Jr