The Carriers Are Waiting

A Phoenix pick

No doubt they are waiting for Godot, as Benoît Mariage's whimsical look at human absurdity and perseverance set in a bleak, black-and-white Belgian factory town gives the Beckett worldview a sit-com twist. Roger (Benoît Poelvoorde) is a part-time photographer for the tabloid Daily Hope and a full-time deluded dreamer and tyrannizer of his meek family. He enlists his teenage son Michel (Jean-François Devigne) into his scheme for breaking the Guinness world record for opening and closing doors, with near-tragic results.

Mariage has a good sense of the line between inspired farce and strained silliness, and his regard for his characters' futility and pathos is never condescending or sentimental. He's also blessed by an extraordinary cast with unforgettable faces, especially that of Margane Simon as Roger's little daughter Louise, whose look of desolate hope and innocence redeems the film's occasional lapses into contrivance and easy laughs. Screens at the Copley Place September 17 at 7:45 and 10:10 p.m. and September 18 at 12:15, 1:30, and 4:15 p.m.

-- Peter Keough

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Film Festival Feature Films

| Keepers of the Frame | The Runner | The Carriers Are Waiting | Tumbleweeds | Deterrance | The War Zone | Happy, Texas | Joe the King | The Legend of 1900 | Best Laid Plans | Original Diner Guys | The Glass Jar | Rose's | Wirey Spindell | Starry Night | Bellyfruit |

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More Boston Film Festival information, film descriptions, and show times

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