The recently ousted French President Nicolas Sarkozy gets the documentary treatment in this light-spirited and fun film that tries to make you chuckle, whilst assessing the merits and failures of his five-year tenure.
Compiled using archive footage and numerous interviews with political commentators and journalists - who possess enough insight between them to fuel the necessary analytical core – it’s an informative experience that’s never dull. It also ends up surprisingly balanced, refusing to become too sensationalist with the numerous criticisms surrounding his decision-making and lifestyle.
At times it looks cheap, with a slight over-reliance on stills, but this is a television movie rather than a feature. With a runtime of a little over 77-minutes, clearly it exceeds the standard 60-minute format, which it would fit perfectly. However, this should be easily amendable. Towards the end of the piece, some of the talking heads begin offering an opinion on whether or not he will be re-elected. Evidently, this segment is now redundant, with the elections having taken place in May, and could be edited out.
While it’s not necessarily the finished product as of yet, once it does hit television screens you will not be disappointed, providing you have an interest in Sarkozy and his exploits.
Tom has awarded Looking for Nicolas Sarkozy four torches of truth
