They screened Frédéric Leroux' Jour de chance today. All the films screened at the festival seem to have sudden twists in their plot. This one was about a Tramp who moves around scavenging for food in dustbins and gets turned away from there as well..

It got worse. He enters a Supermart to exchange stuff (most probably food) for the Special Voucher he has found. The Store security gives him only 5mins to make his purchase. In between, an Assistant at the Confectionery offers a complimentary Cookie to the hungry man, which too is snapped up by the Security Guard.

He languorously makes his way to the Cashier, when another customer rudely overtakes him saying he doesn't have all day. Eventually, the Cashier trashes his Voucher because its invalid.

I had already lost my appetite for dinner.

All this was in black & white. The shot then changed to colour and some TV Presenter walks up to the Tramp and announces him as the 1,00,0000th customer at the Store. So he gets a million euros and a villa and a leather-interiored car and..

I started clapping. I was the only idiot to clap in the silence, characteristic of a special screening. People probably thought I was kiddish, but I really wanted something nice to happen to the poor man.

Meanwhile, the rude customer who had overtaken the Tramp comes up and says that the prize is actually his, because he had overtaken the man out-of-turn. It was hilarious to have the Presenter announce an XL T-shirt and a shiny watch with a leather strap for the disgruntled man.

The sad part is, that all this (the Tramp winning a jackpot) was only part of a low-budget shoot to promote the Store. I don't know why they involved the Tramp, because it wasn't clear if he was paid anything. Or if he in the shoot by accident. They show the crew asking the Tramp to leave because the Store shall be opening and there shall be customers soon.

Me thinks the movie should have ended with the Tramp winning the fortune of a lifetime, nevermind how and why he's initially in such a pitiable condition. But then, they had to twist something. Really creative, though.

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Marc Fitoussi's Illustre inconnue was another lovely film. This one was about a Manga Voice-artist (played by Marilyne Canto), who wants to make her lucky break as an actress.

She struggles real hard and gets an opportunity to prove herself in a screen-test. She is, however, turned down because she has to play a Nun. And the Casting Director thinks she doesn't fit the bill because she wore make-up and is a non-believer.

She gets news of another Director looking for a young actress and conspires to steal the script this time, in order to be better prepared. Her enthusiasm and keenness is something I would have encouraged. All this while the movie illustrates what lengths this Lady is willing to go to, to further her ambition. Most of her activities are quite harmless, me thinks.

At the venue of the screen-test, she even bribes a stranger into approaching her for an autograph. The Man was to make an entry when she is in conversation with the famed producer inside. Its all set and decided, and the plot doesn't surprise, when the stranger turns out to be the Director himself.

But the inevitable twist. I'd be in awe of a person who's tried so hard. She could have used more honest means, though. She doesn't make it.

And she returns to the studio as a Voice-over artist. The Manga script closes with her dubbing the voice of a woman who has been a failure.

I was thrilled to watch these films, despite all the irony.

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Another fantastic story was Emmanuel Malka's Une vie en l’air. About hired labourers who risk their lives to excavate Saturn's inhospitable moon Titan. The story of how Men break down after not having met their loved ones on Earth in years. And the tale of a man who yearns to return to his wife and daughter after spending five years on a moon. All this to make money to pay-off his father's debts.

Enter cost-cutting and constraints on transportation. The man now has to shell out 3,00,000 units of currency to officially return to Earth. That is 3/4th of his savings of 5years.

But he has to return. And some unscrupulous rocket pilots assure him a place as a stowaway aboard the spacecraft for a smaller, yet substantial sum. He has to, of course, trust the pilots, for he shall lose consciousness during the transit.

Of course, they make a mockery of the word 'Trust'. But the end is even more gross. He's deserted with his baggage on some rundown spacestation. He somehow salvages the only photo of his wife and daughter, and the corrosive atmosphere fades out the coating on the photo almost instantaneously. The film closes with the wife and daughter's last transmission to the Man.. 'At last.. At last..'

I was in the open. But I needed water. And even more, more fresh air. And mebbe a huge hug.