The performance is almost grotesque. A middle-aged, lumpy woman, squished into a ill-fitting, blood splattered dress, hides her face behind a mask. The mask features a long nose, one eye crusted shut, another opaque. She recounts the tale of a hideous crime; she picks a man from the audience (her "chicken"), brings the uncomfortable guy on stage, and declares her love. She then declares the chicken's love--for her. The discomfited audience hesitates and then erupts with laughter.
The traveling stage show, entitled "A Dirty Business," is what Irene (Yolande Moreau) does for living in the odd but touching romance "When The Sea Rises." The film, co-directed by Moreau and Gilles Porte, takes the story's foundation from Moreau's real-life one woman show. The film follows her on the road, taking Irene away from her husband, child, and comfortable home in need of new tiles.
Off stage, Irene is anything but groteseque. She has dimpled cheeks and wears her hair in girlish braids. She is quick to smile. When her car breaks down on the way to a performance, she is rescued by Dries (Wim Wallaert.) He is an odder duck than even Irene; he carries paper mache giants at local carnivals. Dries attends her show, and from that night on, he becomes her more-than-willing chicken. Dries is smitten.
What follows is an unlikely romance, one that is impossible not to root for, despite the suggestion of menace that always remains close to the surface. Moreau, who has had supporting roles in numerous French films, including "Amelie" and "The Horsemen on the Roof," is a gifted performer who deservedly won a César (the French counterpart to an Oscar) for best actress. Wallaert gives nuance to a difficult role. Co-director Portes, who also served as the film's cinematographer, turns the industrial landscape of Northern France into an often stunning canvas.
