Director
Jean-Loup Hubert
Leading Actors/Actresses
Richard Bohringer, Anémone
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Antoine Hubert, Christine Pascal, Pascale Roberts
Genre
Drama, Comedy, Coming-of-Age
Language
French
Awards
César Awards for Best Actor and Best Actress
Date of Release
25 March 1987
Producer
Pascal Hommais, Jean Francois Lepetit
Setting and Context
Set in 1959 in Brittany, rural France
Narrator and Point of View
The film is from both the point of view of the children and the adults.
Tone and Mood
Humorous, Playful, Vulnerable, Warm, Poignant
Protagonist and Antagonist
Louis is the protagonist and the antagonist is the loss of his childhood innocence.
Major Conflict
Louis has to adapt to the rural life which introduces him into the world of adulthood as he grasps concepts like death through the neighbor girl Martine. Marcelle and her husband Pelo are going through a rough patch since the death of their child navigating through their grief and pain.
Climax
The climax perhaps reaches when Pelo has an argument with his wife about their dead child and he attempts to rape her.
Foreshadowing
The scene in which Marcelle gouges a rabbit’s eye before skinning it foreshadows the hostile and intimidating world of adulthood that takes away Louis’ childhood innocence.
Understatement
Marcelle is more mature for her age unlike Louis therefore she frequently understates mature concepts which are still foreign and new to the young boy.
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
The director incorporates close-up shots and minimal cuts to maintain the realism in the intimate and emotional scenes.
Allusions
The Algerian War is at the backdrop of the film, it alludes to the conflict through Solange’s boyfriend enlisting for the war. The film alludes to the decline of religiosity in France as the characters criticize the Church in various scenes.
Paradox
N/A
Parallelism
N/A
