La faute à Fidel! (2006)

Director:

Julie Gavras

Writers:

Domitilla Calamai (novel)
Arnaud Cathrine (collaboration)

Release Date:

29 November 2006 (France)

Genre:

Drama | History

Tagline:

Whose fault is it anyway?

Plot:

A 9-year-old girl weathers big changes in her household as her parents become radical political activists in 1970-71 Paris.

Plot Keywords:

Abortion | Political Activist | Catholic School | Nanny | Protest

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Nina Kervel-Bey	...	Anna de la Mesa
Julie Depardieu	...	Marie de la Mesa
Stefano Accorsi	...	Fernando de la Mesa
Benjamin Feuillet	...	François de la Mesa
Martine Chevallier	...	Bonne Maman
Olivier Perrier	...	Bon Papa
Marie Kremer	...	Isabelle
Raphaël Personnaz	...	Mathieu, le marié
Mar Sodupe	...	Marga
Gabrielle Vallières	...	Cécile
Raphaëlle Molinier	...	Pilar
Carole Franck	...	Soeur Geneviève
Marie Llano	...	Mère Anne-Marie
Marie Payen	...	La mère poule
Marie-Noëlle Bordeaux	...	Filomena

Also Known As:

Blame It on Fidel! (USA) (festival title)

Runtime:

USA:99 min | France:99 min | Argentina:99 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Portugal:M/12 | USA:Unrated | Brazil:Livre | Australia:M | Argentina:13 | Mexico:A

Filming Locations:

Bordelais, France

Company:

Gaumont

Quotes:

Soeur Geneviève: Miss De la Mesa, repeat what I said.
Anna de la Mesa: "The goat was eaten by the wolf for disobeying."
Soeur Geneviève: Getting eaten by the wolf was its punishment. So the text is about the need for obedience.
Anna de la Mesa: Sister, I don't get it. My grandpa showed me the paw of a fox caught in a trap. It gnawed off its paw to get free.
Soeur Geneviève: That's quite different. The goat wasn't trapped. Mr. Seguin fed it, loved it.
Anna de la Mesa: But he kept it tied up. It's in the book.
Soeur Geneviève: Are you saying the goat wanted to die? That would be a sin. Sit down.
Anna de la Mesa: Animals aren't Catholic, Sister.
Soeur Geneviève: What do you think it says?
Anna de la Mesa: The goat has two options: to stay at Mr. Seguin's or escape to the mountains. It leaves, thinking the wolf won't eat it. It goes up to the mountains, hoping to become free.
[...]

Soundtrack:

Ay, Carmela

Children & Grown Ups

If you remember being a child confused about the 'grown ups' around you, then this film is worth watching. I thought it was going to be a heavy dark film - and it might be on one level - but it's not at all on the other, mainly because it is about seeing the ('grown up') world from a child's point of view. It reminded me a bit of Pan's Labyrinth in that way, i.e. the way there is an 'adults world' and a 'child's world', although Pan's Labyrinth focuses more on childhood escapism, but 'Blame in Fidel' is more about childhood realism. That is to say this film focuses, in a really lovely accurate way, on a child struggling to understand the real world around them, especially when the adults around her don't tell her the full story. There is no fantasy here. It's all very real. Anna clearly wants to understand what's going on. She hears snippets of conversations and tries to put it all together, sometimes correctly, sometimes incorrectly. Definitely worth a watch!