MONSIEUR MAYONNAISE

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Kicked out of university. Makes a career as a people smuggler. Is this the sort of person we want to come to Australia? You bet it is!

It may sound like a Lubitsch comedy title, but MONSIEUR MAYONNAISE is actually a stunning documentary about film maker Phillippe Mora’s father, Georges Mora.

Expelled from university where he was studying medicine by the Nazi’s, Georges served with the French Resistance smuggling children to safety across the Swiss border.

After the war, he and his wife, Mirka, emigrated to Australia, where they became part of the Melbourne bohemian scene, opening up a restaurant, an establishment that was renowned for its mayonnaise.

Not only was Georges’ mayonnaise a taste sensation, its creamy consistency was a secret weapon in his people smuggling business.

The Gestapo was, to a man, proud of their sartorial splendour and did not want to stain their suits with the splendid sauce, so they were not as scrupulous in their inspections of the sandwiches which were used to conceal secret documents.

Life Lesson – in matters of espionage, do not hold the mayo!

Director Trevor Graham follows Phillippe Mora’s quest to discover more about his father in the years before and during the war. MONSIEUR MAYONNAISE comes across as a kind of quirky Who Do You Think You Are?

Instead of a straight memoir, Phillippe wants to create a comic book out his father’s life, and the film uses animation as well as live action and archival footage to bring this fascinating story to life.

Another device that the film employs sees Phillippe taking on the persona of a thriller writer, tapping out this extraordinary detective story in gloomy rooms and on board trains. The conceit and narration suggests fiction, but this mystery is far stranger than fiction.

Literally following in his father’s footsteps, Mora discovers his dad’s passing brush with Albert Einstein, his less tenuous relationship with Marcel Marceau, and the origin of his family name, a poignant nomenclature that that exceeds a mere Anglicisation.

Funny, enlightening, entertaining, pertinent and poignant, MONSIEUR MAYONNAISE is a film about accentuating the positive during and after very nasty negatives, keeping humour in the face of inhumanity, and wackiness amidst wickedness.

A highlight of the Jewish International Film Festival, MONSIEUR MAYONNAISE is more than just dressing.

JIFF runs October 26 to November 23 at Event Cinemas, Bondi Junction and Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace, Cremorne.

http://www.jiff.com.au