Michou d'Auber (2007)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Thomas Gilou

Writers:

Jean Cosmos (writer)
Thomas Gilou (writer)
(more)

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
Jean-François Gallotte	...	Berrutin
Romain Kraeutlin	...	Paul (as Romain Kraeutlein)
Cartouche	...	Messaoud
Valérie Mairesse	...	Monique
Romain Le Bourlat	...	Éric Viguier
Manon Tournier	...	Sylvie
Christian Bouillette	...	Le maire
Manu Layotte	...	Gabriel
Jean-Gabriel Nordmann	...	Officier militaire
Marie Legault	...	Odette
Roland Menou	...	Surveillant
Jérôme Keen	...	Employé Assistance Publique
Jean-Pierre Moulin	...	Père de Gisèle
Yvette Petit	...	Mère de Gisèle
Afida Tahri	...	Aïcha
Abdelhafid Metalsi	...	Saïd
Josette Motteau	...	Madame Lurcat
Alice Lautner	...	Marie
Alain Pigeaux	...	Vendeur du bazar
Baptiste Boget	...	Blondel
Jérôme Barroin	...	Garcin
Jocelyn Goyard	...	Claude
Alban Thuault	...	Pierrot
Messaoud Hattau	...	Le vieux Kabyle (as Messaoud Hattou)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Audrey Ciais	...	La bonne du curé (uncredited)
Charles de Gaulle	...	Himself (uncredited) (archive footage)
Quentin Grosset	...	Un orphelin (uncredited)
Benjamin Lemaire	...	Un orphelin (uncredited)

Directed by
Thomas Gilou

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jean Cosmos		writer
Thomas Gilou		writer
Messaoud Hattau		writer (as Messaoud Hattou)

Produced by
Luc Besson	....	executive producer
Michel Feller	....	producer
Pierre-Ange Le Pogam	....	producer
Michel Propper	....	executive producer
Mehdi Sayah	....	assistant producer

Original Music by
Alexandre Desplat

Cinematography by
Robert Alazraki

Film Editing by
Francine Sandberg

Casting by
Fabienne Bichet

Production Design by
Laure Lepelley

Costume Design by
Catherine Bouchard

Production Management
Gregory Barrau	....	unit production manager
Eric Bassoff	....	post-production supervisor
Kader Djedra	....	unit production manager
Julien Flick	....	assistant unit manager
Marc Olla	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Barbara Dupont	....	second assistant director
Julien Greco	....	additional second assistant director
Maurice Hermet	....	first assistant director
Sébastien Marziniak	....	additional assistant director
Romaric Thomas	....	trainee assistant director

Art Department
Tom Danos	....	carpenter
Britta Demasse	....	set dresser
Antoine Dore	....	property master
Rouches Frank	....	prop buyer
Anne Pelosi	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Fabien Adelin	....	sound mixer
Adrien Arnaud	....	foley editor
Emmanuel Augeard	....	sound editor
Thomas Bernard	....	sound recordist
Lohengrin Braconnier	....	sound recordist
Philippe Lauprete	....	boom operator
Philippe Lecoeur	....	sound
Bernard Le Roux	....	sound mixer
Fred Mays	....	post-synchronization

Special Effects by
Pascal Molina	....	special effects supervisor

Visual Effects by
Stephanie Broussaud	....	Lustre assistant
Alain Carsoux	....	visual effects director
Nicolas Daniel	....	Lustre assistant
Nicolas Daniel	....	video operator: Duboi
Thierry Delobel	....	visual effects supervisor
Séverine De Wever	....	visual effects coordinator
Geoffroy Givry	....	digital compositor
Pierre Gosset	....	senior compositor
Élodie Ichter	....	Lustre assistant
Wulff Jeremy	....	digital compositor
Abdel Ali Kassou	....	I/O manager
Abdel Ali Kassou	....	imaging manager
Nicolas Kermel	....	digital artist
Emmanuel Le Courbe	....	digital compositor
Guillaume Le Gouez	....	digital compositor
Benoit Philippon	....	digital effects artist
Cyril Pichard	....	research & development
Joel Pinto	....	digital compositor
Sebastien Rame	....	digital compositor
Olivier Ryard	....	digital compositor
Rossi Sébastien	....	visual effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Yves Agostini	....	camera operator
Brigitte Barbier	....	director of photography: second unit
Pierre Garnier	....	key grip
Maxime Héraud	....	first assistant camera
Philippe Leroy	....	electrician
Flavio Manriquez	....	video assistant
Lionel Perrin	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Jérôme Prébois	....	still photographer
Vincent Richard	....	electrician
Nathalie Savale	....	second assistant camera
Loïc Savouré	....	first assistant camera
Benoît Theunissen	....	camera operator

Casting Department
Anne Barbier	....	extras casting
Audrey Ciais	....	casting assistant
Marie de Laubier	....	casting: children

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Nathalie Chesnais	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Basile Belkhiri	....	avid technician: Digital Factory
Caroline Dulac	....	assistant editor
Celia Simonnet	....	post-production assistant
Sidonie Waserman	....	post-production coordinator

Music Department
Jérôme Lateur	....	music supervisor
Vincent Lebegue	....	music legal coordinator
Elise Luguern	....	music production supervisor
Bruno Mercere	....	music recording mixer
Mehdi Sayah	....	assistant music supervisor

Other crew
Virginie Audouard	....	production assistant
Pascaline Buthon	....	production assistant
Barbara Constantine	....	script supervisor
Maxime Delauney	....	set production assistant
Laure Flammarion	....	production assistant
Jean-Baptiste Jay	....	remote head technician
Lilas Saadat	....	assistant location manager: Renfort
Harmel Sbraire	....	coach: children
Vincent Vesco	....	location manager

Production Companies

• Europa Corp.
• TF1 Films Production
• MP Productions (executive production)
• Sofica Europacorp

Distributors

• EuropaCorp. Distribution (2007) (France) (theatrical)

Special Effects

• Duboicolor

Runtime:

France:124 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Certification:

Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | 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.