Michou d'Auber (2007)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Thomas Gilou

Writers:

Jean Cosmos (writer)
Thomas Gilou (writer)

Release Date:

28 February 2007 (Belgium)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Set in France during the struggle for Algerian independence, Messaoud's mother is terminally ill and his father...

Cast

Gérard Depardieu	...	Georges
Nathalie Baye	...	Gisèle
Mathieu Amalric	...	Jacques
Samy Seghir	...	Messaoud / Michou
Medy Kerouani	...	Abdel
Mohamed Fellag	...	Akli (as Fellag)
Catherine Hiegel	...	La directrice de l'orphelinat
Philippe Nahon	...	Le cafetier
Bernard Yerlès	...	Le copain de Georges
Gérald Laroche	...	Robert
Chick Ortega	...	Viguier
Marie Kremer	...	Vendeuse papeterie
Gilles Détroit	...	Le curé
Robert Plagnol	...	Duval
Ludovic Berthillot	...	Max

Runtime:

France:124 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Certification:

Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Portugal:M/12

Company:

Europa Corp.

Touching film on the victory of human relations over inhuman politics

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

I saw the film when returning on a long-distance flight with Air France - the on-board video-system was all f**ked although the plane was the same as the outgoing KLM flight which had a nice video-on-demand system - well, when will AF stop to disappoint their customers? Anyway, the system didn't help and I only saw the flick because there was time to kill and nothing else to see. So much to the not very intriguing title ... well, Gerard Depardieu's taking part also helped in selecting the film. The story unravels around the relationship between an Algerian boy and his fostering mother - a rather simple woman from a small village. The film gives some background on the politics of the time - depressing and suppressing - and goes on to show how brave minds (the mother, the school teacher, maybe also the priest), although they knew about the boy's origin, gave him shelter and security. There is even a hint at the situation of the Jews in WW2 France. It also shows how men in general are apt to follow irrational and inhuman beliefs and kindle hatred. Even the boys at school call Michel a 'wog' (probably 'pied noire' could partly only see the subtitled version without sound) and bash him for this. The really funny parts are very subtle, for instance the school teacher's giving the fostering mother a copy of Camus' 'L'etranger'. Also Depardieu exercising spelling with the boy over a French militarist text on Indochinese war or saluting to the De Gaulle speech on the Algerian crisis (including making the boy salute along). The film also takes a blow at French hypocrisy - i.e. celebrating victory over German in WW2 but hardly ever having a look at all the French collaborators and Vichy France, incl. delivering Jews to the Nazis. May 68 took place in France for good reasons: reacting to a repressive and aggressive climate which started the 'Algerian War' and grudgingly then had to accept the defeat. Gilou sets the unfathomable trust of the boy in his fostering parents in contrast to this and thus shows how relying on simple human relations minus the lies of ideologies and religions can make the world a so much better place.