Monsieur Papa (1977)

A father is raising his ten-year-old son on his own. The two get along very well until the arrival of a new companion in the father's life.

Director:

Philippe Monnier

Writers:

Claude Klotz (novel) (as Patrick Cauvin), Philippe Monnier

Stars:

Claude Brasseur, Nathalie Baye, Nicolas Reboul

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Claude Brasseur	...	Franck Lanier, dit Monsieur Papa
Nathalie Baye	...	Janine
Nicolas Reboul	...	Laurent
Daniel Auteuil	...	Dédé
Brigitte Catillon	...	Martine
Gérard Hérold	...	Bill
Éva Darlan	...	Sylviane (as Eva Darlan)
Lucienne Le Marchand	...	Mme Ferral / Mrs. Ferral (as Lucienne Lemarchand)
Catherine Lachens	...	Mlle Carpentier / Miss Carpentier
Frédéric Blic	...	Gilles
Michel Creton	...	Le professeur de sport / Sport teacher
François Dyrek
Moustache	...	Le père de Gilles / Gilles' father
Jean-Marie Arnoux
Josiane Balasko	...	La femme dans la cabine téléphonique

Storyline

Frank Lanier, known as "Monsieur Papa" (Claude Brasseur), lives alone with his little boy, Laurent, ten years old. He does the shopping, prepares breakfast, goes to the dry cleaners, sets the dinner table. How would Monsieur Papa do if he didn't have this son? Laurent, on the other hand, is not very good at spelling, but no one is perfect. Janine (Nathalie Baye) arises between two somewhat burnt hunting rabbits and three poorly tuned compound pasts. Laurent does not support the arrival of Janine in the life of his father. He is afraid that she will steal his father's love from him. And he redoubled his spelling mistakes. Two plane tickets for Bangkok found on the table are the last straw that will overflow the fragile family tranquility: Janine is on the trip but not Laurent. Monsieur Papa justifies himself as best he can. If he had the money he would also take his son. Never mind. Laurent announces to his father that he will soon bring him the sum of 10,000 francs. Monsieur Papa ...

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Plot Keywords:

literature on screen | european literature on screen | french literature on screen | humoristic literature on screen | french humoristic literature on screen | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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User Reviews

Father hen.

It may pass for trivial , but you must remember that the subject was not that much frequent in the movies in 1977 : it was made two years before "Kramer vs Kramer" and depicted the life of a father left alone to take care of his only child .

Like its American counterpart ,there's no financial problem ,for papa is an engineer,and he makes sure that his son's schooling does not suffer for it : the first scene ,before the cast and credits ,is a dictation :although spelling does not seem to be thee offspring's forte, he shows himself a clever kid " these sentences are devoid of interest" ;for that matter he is right ,and his dad finally agrees.

By and large ,it passes over the real problems in silence ,but the lines are often funny and the rapport Claude Brasseur has with his son wins the audience over.

Many clichés of course : the new woman in papa's life (played by the excellent Nathalie Baye)the son depicts as " a bum selling potatoes from door to door" ;the schoolteacher in a sexy dress trying to seduce the new bachelor (certainly the worst scene).

Sonny has dangerous acquaintances : Dédé ,a young hoodlum (Daniel Auteuil) urges him and his best friend to help him steal the betting office money ;it's the most hilarious moment in the whole film ; but the moral conclusion ,as well as the ending ,are disappointing : as this movie is not to be taken seriously ,some madness would have been welcome.

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

24 August 1977 (France)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Euro-France Films, Société des Etablissements L. Gaumont

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min 85 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1