Au petit Marguery

Fifteen people have gathered in the tasteful restaurant Au Petit Marguery, that is about to close down. Dinner is very animated, it swings between a smile and a tear and forms a kind of catharsis, both for the participants (a wonderful group of actors, by the way) and for the viewer, who also seems to be called to table. The meal marks the end of an era: the glorious era in which the restaurant still attracted plenty of customers. A mood of slight melancholy dominates the soirée. Slowly in a comic, ironic or tragic way, hidden feelings of hatred, thwarted ambition, untamed jealousy, mutual loves, but also genuine affection and reconfirmed tenderness come to light – emotions that shape the lives of this group of people that sees time pass by. But the evening ‘Au Petit Marguery’ is also a new beginning for the group; people manage to see through the dominant tension and tackle it. In the end peace reigns, mixed with sorrow, but filled with hope for the future, the feeling of belonging with the group and having learned more about themselves and each other. The film is a typical style-exercise: a dainty camera follows the characters and their interaction and steps without difficulty from the here and now to memories and events from the past. The film is the début of Laurent Bénégui, who tastefully filmed his own – partly autobiographical – novel.