Pretty Good

Expected more

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

A relatively short comedy drama but one containing a number of themes (illiteracy, old age, parents & children, psychological damage in childhood) as well as being an unusual love story.I did feel the growth of the relationship between Germain & Magueritte was somewhat forced and former international aid worker, Margueritte, an almost saintly figure, angelic, in contrast to Germain's bully of a mother, though I did like the twist at the end, which makes the audience reassess a woman whose youthful exuberance was blighted by an accidental pregnancy, resulting in a deepening resentment taken out on her son. Certain things seemed telegraphed such as Germain's increased confidence with words surprising his friends though Germain's clumsiness remains in the quite funny scenes with Francine the bar-owner.I thought the flashbacks were well integrated and added to the film rather than interrupting its pace and the resolution, though sentimental, made sense.But I decided to give this film seven as I preferred the depiction of old age in 'Mid August Lunch' because I felt it possessed more of a ring of truth to it (loneliness, vulnerability, but how the old ladies all retain their individuality). 'My Afternoon with Magueritte' is an unashamedly feel-good movie. I'm not familiar with Becker's other work but I have been led to believe that he believes in the best of human nature. As a cynic and pessimist, I don't like to always cast gloom, but I do like a hint of bitter chocolate with my saccharine.

La tête en friche is a beautiful little French film based on the book by Marie-Sabine Roger and adapted for the screen by Jean-Loup Dabadie and director Jean Becker. A tale of an unexpected life change that occurs when an incidental meeting on a park bench brings together an illiterate lonely man with an elderly woman whose best friends are her books in the isolation of old age, this is truly a story of transformation and a definition of pure love.Germain Chazes (Gérard Depardieu) grew up in an unwanted home, the brunt of teachers and classmates because they considered him illiterate, and now he is forced to lead a hand to mouth existence in a house trailer close to his now elderly, crass, alcoholic mother who still loathes him. He supports himself with odd jobs and by selling the vegetables he grows in his small garden. One day he visits his lunch spot - a park bench where he has named the 19 pigeons as his only real friends - and there he meets a very properly dressed elderly woman named Margueritte (two t 's because her father didn't know how to spell!) played by Gisèle Casadesus, who spends her days reading Camus, Proust, and other French classics aloud. They bond - Germain shares his pigeons' names and Margueritte introduces him in the most gentle manner to the joy of reading. Every day thereafter the two meet and Margueritte reads to Germain to the extent that Germain decides to learn to read despite his advanced years. Margueritte's influence changes Germain's outlook and response to the world and the ending, while sad on one level, is uplifting.Both Depardieu and Casadesus are remarkable in their roles, never becoming caricatures but blossoming into completely warm and memorable people. The French cast is exceptional and the musical score and cinematography are as beautiful as the story they reveal. Grady Harp

The movie may very well be cute, adorable, feel-good and all other similar adjectives. But I couldn't get past the first ten minutes of it due to the fact that, yet again (as french movies - or french men - do seem to prefer), I'm forced to face the hard-to-believe relationship between a pretty young woman and a fifty not-so-bright, poor and socially retarded man. Or french man, to be accurate. The age difference per se is not the issue, but the context and the lack of justification thereof.I've had my share of good french movies, and I shall not stand for any bullshit, little as it may seem.

This film is a perfect example of those qualities that seem to be impossible in American/British cinema. It has a homeliness and innocence which is believable while being obvious fiction. The acting of Depardieu, Gisele Casadesus and Maurine is superb, in fact none of the cast are anything but excellent. It is not always the case that 'flashback' scenes don't interfere with the continuity but here they work perfectly as the character of Chazes is built up. His relationship with Margueritte, from the initial pigeon naming encounter to the final 'rescue' is beautifully developed. This film is finely worked comedy, painted over a morality which is never syrupy, leaving one with a smile and even a moist eye, at the end.