The Upcoming
  • Cinema & Tv
    • Movie reviews
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Show reviews
  • Music
    • Live music
  • Food & Drinks
    • News & Features
    • Restaurant & bar reviews
    • Interviews & Recipes
  • Theatre
  • Art
  • Travel & Lifestyle
  • Literature
  • Fashion & Beauty
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Competitions
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureMovie reviews

My Name Is Hmmm (Je M’appelle Hmmm)

My Name Is Hmmm (Je M’appelle Hmmm) | Movie review
31 July 2014
Laura Foulger
Avatar
Laura Foulger
31 July 2014

Movie and show review

Laura Foulger

My Name Is Hmmm (Je M’appelle Hmmm)

★★★★★

Release date

17th October 2014

Links

FacebookWebsite

Life is bleak for 11-year-old Céline, who is resigned to the daily misery wrought by her abusive father and absent mother. One day she’s sent on a school trip and seizes her chance to escape. She forges an unlikely bond with a Scottish long-haul truck driver and their adventures on the road together begin. Gradually, we come to understand the reasons behind their mutual dependence, and the ruthless way that they cling to their nomadic freedom.Je_m_appelle_Hmmm

Agnès Troublé is best known as fashion designer Agnès B, and her playful creativity is suitably showcased in My Name Is Hmmm (Je M’appelle Hmmm in its native French). It is the highly stylistic cinematography experimentation that sings out for attention in place of any substantial story. Scudding clouds reflect in a gutter puddle; a single scene is black and white; there’s double exposure, free-hand camera movements and blurred shots; a cluster of bubbles on the surface of a lake resembles a heart. For some there will be a few too many stylistic techniques packed in – a surplus of cut frames that disrupts the natural unfolding of a moment – but perhaps a fashion designer has a duty to overstep the boundaries and dabble in excess? Music is used to stark effect: the film broods along without a note for the first half an hour or so, which makes the sudden introduction of an operatic dirge against ominous strings disarmingly moving.

The incoherence of the oft overloaded cinematography serves to emphasise the disappointingly basic script. As blatant as a school play tackling a serious subject, you could near enough guess each line before it came. The stereotypical “English geezer” truckers at the film’s start use “mate” and “innit” in every sentence; a relevant news story begins at the very moment a radio is switched on; Céline’s mother speaks a contrived monologue into the mirror to explain her character.

A dramatic ending thankfully brings the rambling artsy-ness to a close and seeks to tie the story together, but isn’t altogether convincing. Douglas Gordon’s affable truckie Peter is enjoyable to watch but none of the other actors truly make an impression. Watch My Name Is Hmm for its atmosphere, but don’t expect too much substance.

★★★★★

Laura Foulger

My Name Is Hmmm (Je M’appelle Hmmm) is released nationwide on 17th October 2014.

Watch the trailer for My Name is Hmmm here:

Related Items2014agnes bcinemacinematographyculturefilmfrenchmy name is hmmmreview

More in Movie reviews

The Railway Children Return

★★★★★
Umar Ali
Read More

Eric Ravilious: Drawn to War

★★★★★
Umar Ali
Read More

Minions: The Rise of Gru

★★★★★
Sarah Bradbury
Read More

Nitram

★★★★★
Umar Ali
Read More

The Princess

★★★★★
Umar Ali
Read More

We (Nous)

★★★★★
Jake Cudsi
Read More

Tigers

★★★★★
Guy Lambert
Read More

Theo and the Metamorphosis

★★★★★
Oliver Johnston
Read More

The Big Hit

★★★★★
Andrew Murray
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Movie and show review

Laura Foulger

My Name Is Hmmm (Je M’appelle Hmmm)

★★★★★

Release date

17th October 2014

Links

FacebookWebsite

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Africa Fashion at the V&A
    ★★★★★
    Art
  • Beauty and the Beast: The Musical at London Palladium
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Netflix Walking Tour: From Bridgerton to The Crown, a free walking tour through the filming locations
    Cinema & Tv
  • St Vincent at the Hammersmith Apollo
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Minions: The Rise of Gru
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • The Railway Children Return
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Eric Ravilious: Drawn to War
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Beauty and the Beast: The Musical at London Palladium
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • The Terminal List
    ★★★★★
    amazon
  • Baymax!
    ★★★★★
    disney
  • The Railway Children Return
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Beauty and the Beast: The Musical at London Palladium
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • St Vincent at the Hammersmith Apollo
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Netflix Walking Tour: From Bridgerton to The Crown, a free walking tour through the filming locations
    Cinema & Tv
  • Africa Fashion at the V&A
    ★★★★★
    Art
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why
With the support from:
International driving license

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Down But Not Out: The Nine Lives of Jack Lacy by Jack Lacy | Book review
Fairytales & Fire at the Old Red Lion | Theatre review