Forget “The Artist.’’ The homage to silent cinema to see is “The Fairy,’’ directed by and featuring three Belgian comic masters, Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon and Bruno Romy.
Abel is Dom, who works the night shift at a cheap hotel in the seaport of Le Havre. One night Fiona (Gordon) — barefoot and wearing a pink jogging outfit — walks in and announces she’s a fairy who can grant Dom three wishes. He chooses two — a scooter and a lifetime of free gasoline, both of which he gets — but can’t decide on the third.
Dom falls hard for Fiona, despite the fact that she’s as nutty as a fruitcake. They spend time together at the Love Is Blurred cafe, where a myopic waiter (Romy) serves beer with great difficulty. Fiona suddenly vanishes, sending Dom on a frantic search. Not surprisingly, he finds her at a local mental hospital, where she’s a patient.
This is the third feature by the three gifted stars, who deftly pull off hilarious, nearly wordless slapstick routines reminiscent of Jacques Tati, Buster Keaton and Jerry Lewis. Funniest is Dom’s escape from the hospital with Fiona; close behind is Fiona’s shoplifting spree. You’ll get a kick out of “The Fairy,’’ even if you don’t believe in fairies.