In Little Flower Daniel Hendler kills as well as loves

Black comedy -very black- by Santiago Miterunintentional or unexpected after The student, the band Y The rangethe director deals with themes such as paternity and motherhood, marital crisis, immigration, inclusion, conformity, routine, passion for jazz and, yes, murder.

“A story of life and death, no matter what order,” says a voiceover, and we’ll find out who he is.

Adaptation of the novel of the same name by Iosi Havilio, written by the director and Mariano Llinás, the protagonist is José (daniel hendler), cartoonist from Rosario, unemployed in a French town. New father with his partner Lucie (Vimala Pons, da in the shadow of womenby Philippe Garrel), reluctant to speak the local language, it is she who goes out looking for work, and gets it in the newspaper of the country, so José will have to deal with the daily life of little Antonette.

And one good day – or a bad day, we’ll see – José will ring the bell at a neighbor’s house. You need a shovel to work in your garden. He is received by Jean-Claude (Melvile Poupaud, protagonist of By the grace of Godby François Ozon), a guy who, while showing you his impressive collection of jazz vinyls and giving you expensive wines to taste, turns out to be unbearable.

He corrects his pronunciation, he is a bit narcissistic, and when he finally gives him what José had gone to look for – the shovel -, he holds it back, plays at giving it to him and doesn’t let him grab this, and in the fight José sinks the edge of his shovel in the neck. The owner of the house bleeds to death.

José says nothing to Lucie, but the next day the dead neighbor greets him from his car. And José will visit him again and kill him. This will be repeated, week after week, in different ways, as well as the pleasant talks in which José will receive life advice. No, not death.

And all that jazz

Small flowerwhich owes its title to the theme of Sidney Bechet, plays with the discomfort of the viewer, but discomfort is not intended as annoyance or boredom, but for the mystery generated by situations.

Thursdays become the best days of their lives, when Lucie comes home from work euphoric, partying, going out, going to concerts, making love. They live. And they revive the passion in the couple.

The appearance of another character in the plot, a kind of guru and psychologist named Bruno Rodriguez (Catalan Sergi López) is the point that triggers another shock in the life of José, a taciturn, conformist and somewhat perverted man.

Miter plays with storytelling and draws on jazz, and its spirit also in the rhythm of the story, which is a comedy, a detective story and a film that is as easy to bear as it is disconcerting.

“Small flower”

Good

Comedy / mystery. Argentina / France, 2022. 98 ‘, SAM 16. Of: Santiago Miter. With: Daniel Hendler, Vimala Pons, Sergi Lopez. Rooms: Cinépolis Recoleta and Avellaneda, Vetrina Belgrano and Norcenter.