Driving Madeleine

February 26, 2024

Showings 4:30, 7:00 and 9:10pm

France | 2022 | French (English subtitles) | Drama/Comedy | 91 minutes

A charming nonagenarian takes her gruff cab driver on an unexpectedly life-affirming odyssey, in the touching new comedy-drama from French director Christian Carion.

Charles, a taxi driver in Paris, is having a very bad day. Some pressing personal debts are due, he’s in danger of losing his driver’s licence due to numerous traffic infractions, and his marriage, like Charles himself, is strained to the point of snapping. A quick fare in the suburbs seems like an easy distraction.

Enter Madeleine, an immaculately groomed 92-year-old woman who informs Charles that today’s trip will not be a direct one. She is moving into a care home and would like to make some stops along the way, predicting that this might be her last car ride through the city. Initially exasperated and grumbling, Charles is gradually won over by her warmth and directness, and is fascinated by the stories she wants to tell. Their ride takes them through the momentous locations of her life, and we discover that she’s had a dramatic and sometimes shocking journey indeed.

This short friendship is sure to have a lasting impact, as Madeleine listens to Charles confess his own worries, all of which she absorbs with candour and clarifying humour. She reminds us that every seemingly benign elderly woman we might pass on the street could be a warrior, a nurturer, and a spirited adventurer.