Camille chases her man and endures excruciatingly embarrassing situations, overcomes obstacles, revels in great sex, great one-liners and encounters a host of other comic conventions which work because La Nouvelle Eve has no pretension to be anything but a fun, feel-good movie for a contemporary audience.

Karin Viard delivers a persuasive and loveable performance as the central character. Camille is lost, bemused and befuddled, but somehow Viard ensures we recognise she is also a strong woman, swimming against the tide of modern life and ironically aware of her own absurdities. When a friend asks what The One's wife is like she replies, "Economics teacher... brilliant... sure of herself," adding wistfully, "A nightmare". It comes as no surprise to learn that when Viard became pregnant, Corsini delayed the shoot for a year, spending time to develop Camille's character - a figure the director admitted she based on herself.

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	Bridget Jones's Diary (Sharon Maguire, 2001)   Fourbi (Allain Tanner, 1996)

At the time of its release, journalists made much of the fact that the movie seemed to represent a new genre in French film making: the auteur comedy. It eschewed the hyperbole of traditional French comedy and took time to poke fun at the overt seriousness of much European cinema.

But in the post-Bridget Jones age it's easier to accept that this was Corina relaxing after a string of acclaimed works dealing with issues ranging from racism to childhood abuse. She cited Frank Capra, Billy Wilder and Woody Allen as influences on this, her biggest hit. With the comedy's lightness of touch, quirkiness and sheer good humour she ably follows their tradition while adding a flourish of Gallic panache.

Gavin Collinson