Je m’appelle Agneta is an absolute jewel of a foreign film. This Swedish dramedy looks at the liberation of 50 year old Agneta as she breaks away from her old life to become an au pair in Provence.

Je m’appelle Agneta stars Eva Melander as Agneta. Her life is Sweden is in a rut. She dreams of eating French food and drinking French wine. She gets fired from her job and finds a job as an au pair in France. Her husband Magnus (Björn Kjellman) doesn’t understand what’s happening, but he’s busy with his health foods and his exercise routine. He doesn’t believe Agneta will actually last in the job.

Agneta speaks Swedish and English, but very little French. She isn’t worried about this because the job is to manage a Swedish child.

The “child” turns out to be an old man named Einar (Claes Månsson). His cluttered and filthy house is full of paintings and statues of frank sexuality. Every morning he steps outside to shout a greeting to his libido. He doesn’t want a woman in the house and she thinks taking care of this old poot is a bad idea.

Yet she stays. Einar is flamboyantly gay, in love with life and joy, and determined to share it with Agneta. They begin to understand each other. With every new experience, every good meal, every conversation, Agneta loosens up. She smiles, she relaxes, she bares her long-hidden body, she develops a thing for the local bistro owner Fabien (Jérémie Covillault).

As a young man, Einar was married to a woman and had a son. He hasn’t seen the son in years and feels the loss. Of course, Agneta interferes in this dilemma to try to reunite them.

Life is beautiful. Agneta is free and happy. She loves Einer and her new friends. Then Magnus shows up. Stiff, inflexible, unfunny Magnus. He wants Agneta home.

Many things in this film were delightful and life-affirming, but watching Agneta deal with Magnus at the end was the most joyful of all. Johanna Runevad directed.

In case Netflix doesn’t recommend Je m’appelle Agneta to you, here’s the trailer. If you watch the film, I’d love to hear your reaction.