An accessible French film? No, pal, that’s not a contradiction of terms

I like to make fun of French films. That’s mostly because the people who love French films absolutely loooooooovvvvvve French films. As in the woman I overheard a few years ago at the Seattle International Film Festival who was telling her friends, “If it’s not in French, I don’t want to see it.

Quelle horreur.

Anyway, I recognize the greatness of some French cinema. And I admit to liking a number of French films that I’ve seen over the past several years. One of the most recent is a little film carrying the English title of “Let it Rain,” or in French “Parlez-moi de la pluie” - which translates more as “Let’s Talke About the Rain.”

This is a charming little film that follows a group of people, all of whom are in a difficult place in their respective lives. Karim (Jamel Debbouze) is working as a hotel clerk, though he entertains hopes of becoming a filmmaker. His mentor, Michel (Jean-Pierre Bacri), is a former TV journalist who is now making a living filming baptisms, etc.

The two get the idea of interviewing the politician-hopeful Agathe ( Agnes Jaoui ), a best-selling feminist writer who is running for political office. Karim knows Agathe because he grew up in the same rural village with Agathe and her sister Florence Pascale Arbillot); in fact, Karim’s mother still lives with Florence and her family, working as a nanny/maid. Agathe has her own problems, revolving mainly around trying to maintain a career and relationship with her partner Antoine (Frederic Pierrot). Florence, who is married, is a woman still marked by the fact that her mother seemed to prefer Agathe over her.

And so on. Nothing much happens in “Let It Rain,” except that is for the normal circumstances of life. Agathe and Florence tapdance around each other. Karim, also married, becomes infatuated with the young woman who works at his hotel. At the same time, he starts to become disenchanted with the self-absorbed Michel, who is carrying on his own affair with, of course, Florence.

What I most like about “Let It Rain,” which I saw on Comcast’s IFC On Demand service, is that it just ambles along, letting each character work out his or her situation. As written by Jaoui and Bacri, and directed by Jaoui, the film doesn’t end happily so much as leave open the possibility of happiness. These may be flawed characters, but they do show growth.

And while Jaoui’s film isn’t a laugh-out-loud comedy, it does have its share of funny moments. That adds to the overall effect, and it makes the characters and their world well worth spending time with.

Even if they are French.

Below : The trailer for “Let It Rain.”