# The Fairy

![](/static/blog/2011-07-the_fairy_680x380-441x246.jpg "The Fairy")

With last year’s tragic *The Wedding Party* opening last years festival, I think that it’s fair to say that my bar had been significantly lowered in terms of what I was expecting. Luckily I was pleasantly surprised with Belgian/French film *The Fairy*, a film that was also written and directed by its three lead actors. The film is a slapstick romance which revolves around a man working the night shift at a hotel who is visited by a woman claiming to be a Fairy. With strong links to the likes of Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and Jacques Tati’s work, the film itself feels like a series of sketches that have been worked around a really rough storyline. Unfortunately with this being the case, the longer the movie went, the more the audience became restless - possibly getting antsy to get to the Town Hall for their free booze and canapés. That said, I still thoroughly enjoyed *The Fairy* with it’s surreal “Boosh-like” moments which included a strange under-the-sea dance and also the very clever use of rear projection in a chase sequence.

One thing I loved about this film was the fact that the filmmakers all had a hand in the writing/directing and acting side of things. It was very clear that they played to their strengths as actors and physical comedians which was evident all throughout the film.

*The Fairy* is by no means a perfect film. It does drag on a little too long and has a few jokes that fall flat on their face. However this light hearted love story with its genuine laugh out loud moments made for a considerable boost in quality for the Opening Night films that I have seen during my 5 years of attending MIFF. I’ll take this over *The Wedding Party* or *2:37* any day!

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