This sentimental old-fashioned French melodrama oozingwith charm is a faithful remake of the 1940 original movie penned and directed
by novelist turned playwright Marcel
Pagnol. This time it is helmed by veteran
award winning actor Daniel Auteuil
making his directing debut and taking the starring role too. There are no CGI, (computer generated
imagery) no fancy stunts, no 3-D or no flashbacks just good old traditional
filmmaking with high production values that relies on some exquisite
photography and some wonderful acting. It’s
a refreshing change, and somewhat a surprise to me of how much I really loved it.
The time is 1914, and the place a very small town in
the heart of the French countryside. Patricia is the 16 year old
daughter named in the title and she comes across, and falls for, Jacques a
handsome young pilot and the son of the local store keeper i.e. they have
money, and considered socially out of her league. Patricia is the oldest of 6 girls and since
their mother’s death has been running the family for her father who is anxious
to marry her off to his younger work colleague so that she will still live nearby and be able to help out bringing her siblings up. Felipe is a plain solid man but no match for
Jacques who she falls for fast and completely but as soon as she does he is called
off to war, and she ends up pregnant.
Pascal, the well keeper drags Patricia to confront
Jacques’s parents who refuse to believe that the baby could be their
grandchild and so send them off packing.
Pascal, totally ashamed of the stigma of an unmarried mother in their
small community, banishes her to another town for good.
Jacques’s parents who refuse to believe that the baby could be their
grandchild and so send them off packing.
Pascal, totally ashamed of the stigma of an unmarried mother in their
small community, banishes her to another town for good.
When Pascal eventually gets word that the baby is born
and is a boy, the first one in his family, and that the child bears his name,
anger gradually turns into pride and both mother and son are eventually welcomed back into
the family.
and is a boy, the first one in his family, and that the child bears his name,
anger gradually turns into pride and both mother and son are eventually welcomed back into
the family.
Even the French like Hollywood endings and Jacques
missing in the War turns up alive, his snotty parents realize that if they don’t
chill they will miss out on seeing their grandson grow up …. and it’s hardly
spoiling the predictable final scene if I tell you even good old reliable
Felipe gets a bride in the end.
missing in the War turns up alive, his snotty parents realize that if they don’t
chill they will miss out on seeing their grandson grow up …. and it’s hardly
spoiling the predictable final scene if I tell you even good old reliable
Felipe gets a bride in the end.
M. Auteil has cast himself perfectly as the outraged
and honest patriarch with his high morals that almost supplant his deep love for
his large family of females, but it’s really the delightful Astrid Berges-Frisby
as the demure but quietly determined Patricia that steals not just Jacques’s heart but also this movie.
and honest patriarch with his high morals that almost supplant his deep love for
his large family of females, but it’s really the delightful Astrid Berges-Frisby
as the demure but quietly determined Patricia that steals not just Jacques’s heart but also this movie.
It all makes for the most perfect feel-good movie for
a mature audience : it is done so very well that it is head and shoulders above others in this genre, and it is really hard not to love.
a mature audience : it is done so very well that it is head and shoulders above others in this genre, and it is really hard not to love.
P.S. I was curious as I left the theater wondering if I
would be so enamoured if it had been a re-make of a US 1940’s melodrama, or
would I just have thought that was outdated and camp? Does the fact that it is French (and exotic?)
make it more acceptable/enjoyable? Hmmm.
would be so enamoured if it had been a re-make of a US 1940’s melodrama, or
would I just have thought that was outdated and camp? Does the fact that it is French (and exotic?)
make it more acceptable/enjoyable? Hmmm.
★★★★★★★★★
Labels: 2012, comedy, French, period drama
