Customer Rating: 
Summary: Les Vieux Hommes Sont Les Gens Aussi
Comment: Charming French Canadian film about two very different old men who become friends while living in the same retirement home. Victor is reckless, outgoing and frank about his homosexuality. Philippe is dignified, reserved and closeted. Their sexual orientation isn't the whole story, but nor is it irrelevant; mostly, they're just two lonely gentlemen who've either outlived or been abandoned by their families. The friendship that develops between the two is platonic, but Victor admits that if he'd met Philippe when he was younger, things might have turned out differently. The pace may drag a bit towards the end, but the film doesn't overstay its welcome. There isn't a lot of "action" per se, but the dialogue crackles with life and Jacques Godin and Jean-Louis Roux establish a believable chemistry. There aren't enough films about the elderly that treat them as fully rounded individuals--or even make them the leading characters. Salut Victor belongs to a small subset of films that include the British made-for-TV production, A Rather English Marriage, with Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay (who had previously starred together in The Dresser) or Australian director Paul Cox's acclaimed Innocence. These films depict the relationships between senior citizens (romantic or otherwise) in a sympathetic--but not cutesy or self-pitying--and refreshingly non-stereotypical manner.
May we all live as long as Philippe and Victor and find friends, in the twilight of our lives, that are as true.
