This weekend I went to see „My best friend“, a French movie with Daniel Auteuil as a man who does not have a best friend and does not even know what that is. Poor François! He is a successful antiquarian. But at his birthday party, his business partner Catherine notes that he doesn’t actually have any friends: they’re all clients or colleagues. So François bets Catherine that by the end of the month he can produce for her his true best friend. Now all he has to do is find one. He tries books and lectures, looks up childhood chums, and even resorts to asking people in restaurants how they became friends, but nothing works until he turns to his cab driver, Bruno, for tips on how to be friendly. Bruno is very outgoing and seems to have a way of easily relating to strangers, but even he could use a lesson about trusting in friendship and even more important, in himself.
The movie is called a comedy, but if a comedy at all, it is a bitter comedy. It makes you smile with tears in your eyes.
At the very end, not in time to win his bet, but in time to change his life, François finally understands what friendship means and so does Bruno.
During the movie I had to think of my best friend and how lucky I am to have met him:
He keeps on writing even when I do not write back.
He is interested in the things I like even if they are of no interest to him at all.
He likes my smile, but more importantly he knows how to make me smile.
He thinks patience is a virtue, but accepts it is one I am lacking.
I do not always understand him, but I trust him.
He is my Patronus - but probably does not know what that is, as he is no Harry Potter fan ;-)
So I` ll better explain it:
A Patronus is a shield that will protect you against evil creatures (dementors). It projects hope, happiness and desire. It is your most beautiful thought.
Dementors are soulless creatures that sense and feed on the positive emotions, happiness and good memories of human beings to move around. But as long as your Patronus is around you they can`t do you any harm.