In Municipal, a playful documentary, actor Laurent Papot goes to Revin, a small town in the Ardennes, where he plans to stand as mayor. He makes it clear that this is an exercise in the functioning of democracy, saying that if he wins he will return to Paris and leave the chair vacant for his supporters. Perhaps unsurprisingly the project meets with some resistance, even as he garners some unlikely supporters.
The film has three strands. Firstly it interrogates how democracy functions on a local level, showing how local people become involved, tracing Laurent's journey towards polling day. Secondly it is a study in post-industrial decline. Revin used to be an industrial hub, and its economy thrived. Now, in common with so many Western European towns, it has no industry left and has consequently declined. The gilet jaunes candidate both befriends and harangues Laurent, and he clearly represents a more militant critique of 21st century European politics. Thirdly, the film ends up being a surprisingly tender portrait of a man struggling to find his place in an alien culture. Revin is still France, but the distance to Paris seems vast. Laurent is also on a voyage to feel as though he belongs, one the film, which is perhaps directed by his brother (?), traces with elegance and sympathy.
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