Pauline & Paulette is a small Belgian movie about the problems arising when the caretaker sister of the retarded Pauline dies and the other two sisters have to take over because otherwise they will lose their part of the legacy. Pauline (convincingly portrayed by Dora van der Groen) has a preference for flowers (both real and photographed) and bright colors. One of the two sisters (Paulette) establishes a particularly strong bond with her and that story is the main focus of the movie.
We have one of the sisters Cécile living (but not married) with a French-speaking man in Brussels. The fact that he is unable to connect and communicate to Pauline is a small reference to the existing language barrier in Belgium, as Pauline of course has her own unique language. With the love of Viennese operetta by Paulette we have the play-in-the-play; first Pauline breaks into that performance, later there's a farewell scene in the operetta.
The production design is well done with red and reddish colors for the places where Pauline and Paulette meet like the shop of Paulette for example.
There is not an arc in the script for a feature-length movie and it clocks in at a meager 78 minutes. The direction is not that interesting so we end up with a movie that's never dull, but never compelling either. But as many have noted it has its heart at the right place and is well suited for all age groups, although it may appeal especially to the not-too-young.
We have one of the sisters Cécile living (but not married) with a French-speaking man in Brussels. The fact that he is unable to connect and communicate to Pauline is a small reference to the existing language barrier in Belgium, as Pauline of course has her own unique language. With the love of Viennese operetta by Paulette we have the play-in-the-play; first Pauline breaks into that performance, later there's a farewell scene in the operetta.
The production design is well done with red and reddish colors for the places where Pauline and Paulette meet like the shop of Paulette for example.
There is not an arc in the script for a feature-length movie and it clocks in at a meager 78 minutes. The direction is not that interesting so we end up with a movie that's never dull, but never compelling either. But as many have noted it has its heart at the right place and is well suited for all age groups, although it may appeal especially to the not-too-young.