Petit Nicolas (2009)
(Le petit Nicolas)
Country: FR/BEL
Technical: col 91m
Director: Laurent Tirard
Cast: Maxime Godart, Vincent Claude, Valérie Lemercier, Kad Merad, Sandrine Kiberlain, Daniel Prévost
Synopsis:
Nicolas's securely circumscribed world of benevolent schoolmistress, assorted ne'er-do-well chums and adoring Mum begins to crumble at the edges when he becomes convinced his parents are soon to produce a baby brother who will supplant him in their affections and make his life a misery.
Review:
Set in the 1950s and adapting more or less faithfully the time-honoured books of Sempé and Goscinny, Tirard's handsomely produced film is standard French family fare. Design, music, casting and performance are beyond reproach, and there are a number of scenes that delight even when conforming to expectations, and yet fail to turn smiles into laughter or add up to a satisfying whole. Perhaps it is all just a shade too smug in its appointments, while failing to find a narrative equivalent for the ironic detachment of the original.
(Le petit Nicolas)
Country: FR/BEL
Technical: col 91m
Director: Laurent Tirard
Cast: Maxime Godart, Vincent Claude, Valérie Lemercier, Kad Merad, Sandrine Kiberlain, Daniel Prévost
Synopsis:
Nicolas's securely circumscribed world of benevolent schoolmistress, assorted ne'er-do-well chums and adoring Mum begins to crumble at the edges when he becomes convinced his parents are soon to produce a baby brother who will supplant him in their affections and make his life a misery.
Review:
Set in the 1950s and adapting more or less faithfully the time-honoured books of Sempé and Goscinny, Tirard's handsomely produced film is standard French family fare. Design, music, casting and performance are beyond reproach, and there are a number of scenes that delight even when conforming to expectations, and yet fail to turn smiles into laughter or add up to a satisfying whole. Perhaps it is all just a shade too smug in its appointments, while failing to find a narrative equivalent for the ironic detachment of the original.
(Le petit Nicolas)
Country: FR/BEL
Technical: col 91m
Director: Laurent Tirard
Cast: Maxime Godart, Vincent Claude, Valérie Lemercier, Kad Merad, Sandrine Kiberlain, Daniel Prévost
Synopsis:
Nicolas's securely circumscribed world of benevolent schoolmistress, assorted ne'er-do-well chums and adoring Mum begins to crumble at the edges when he becomes convinced his parents are soon to produce a baby brother who will supplant him in their affections and make his life a misery.
Review:
Set in the 1950s and adapting more or less faithfully the time-honoured books of Sempé and Goscinny, Tirard's handsomely produced film is standard French family fare. Design, music, casting and performance are beyond reproach, and there are a number of scenes that delight even when conforming to expectations, and yet fail to turn smiles into laughter or add up to a satisfying whole. Perhaps it is all just a shade too smug in its appointments, while failing to find a narrative equivalent for the ironic detachment of the original.