Perl oder Pica (2006)

The story beginns on 24 October 1962, at the height of the Cuban missile crisis. The Second World War with its hardships and bombs, the Nazi occupation and the collaborators, is still on ... See full synopsis »

Director:

Pol Cruchten

Writers:

François Dupeyron, Viviane Thill

Stars:

Ben Hoscheit, André Jung, Nicole Max

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ben Hoscheit	...	Norbi
André Jung	...	Father
Nicole Max	...	Mother
Anouk Wagener	...	Josette
Thierry van Werveke	...	Mr. Pendelmeyer
Luc Feit	...	Mr. Treines
Myriam Muller	...	Aunt Zëss
Marcello Mazzarella	...	Mr. Pinato
Elena Arvigo	...	Mrs. Pinato
Johannes Silberschneider	...	Mr. Paschulke
Steve Karier	...	Religion Teacher
Loïc Peckels	...	Aloyse
Yan Gillen	...	Fred
Sam Hanbury	...	Guy Treines
Christiane Rausch	...	Sister Bernadette

Storyline

The story beginns on 24 October 1962, at the height of the Cuban missile crisis. The Second World War with its hardships and bombs, the Nazi occupation and the collaborators, is still on people's mind. In 1962, everyone is afraid of the communists, the devil and the next world war. Priests reign supreme over those who attend church and those who do not.

The story is told from the point of view of the 12-year old Norbi Welscheid, who lives in a small industrial town typical of the south of Luxembourg. His father owns a shop where he sells books and stationery, as well as religious articles. In the year 1962, Norbi will have to face the mysteries of sexuality and the war, subjects that are beyond his comprehension since it was not considered necessary in those days to explain them to children.

However, when the film starts, Norbi has other mysteries to solve. What does 'P' stand for, a letter his father regularly notes in his diary? Who killed the man in the Rue des Hauts-Fourneaux? Why ...

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Plot Keywords:

religious parent | kiss | class | corporal punishment | store | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [France]

Country:

Luxembourg Austria

Language:

Luxembourgish

Release Date:

12 October 2006 (Luxembourg)

Also Known As:

Kleine Geheimnisse

Filming Locations:

Luxembourg

Box Office

Budget:

€2,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Red Lion Sarl, Amour Fou Filmproduktion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Luxembourg's Official Submission to the Best Foreign Language Film Category of the 80th Annual Academy Awards (2008).

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Connections

References Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)

User Reviews

A few months in the life of an 11 year old boy living in the Luxembourg of the a1960s

All in all, I would say that "Perl oder Pica" is a decent movie. The settings and the costumes are the best things in it, they recapture the image of the European 1960s, which were still quite gloomy and post-war influenced but which had some elements of modernity slowly creeping in. The story is OK as well, although I was expecting something more dramatic. I was waiting for a life-altering event to take place in Norbi's life but there is not much happening there, it is just a selection of episodes picturing boyhood experiences. The movie could also be defined as a series of vignettes-like illustrations of an European country that still had trouble coping with the memories of WWII and entering in the age of modernity, seen through the eyes of a pre-adolescent boy. The acting was alright, there were some exaggerations here and there but they might have been intentional. Finally, I would say that it is a good movie which could have been better if it had tackled more critical issues and concentrated more on the context rather than the boy's life, which in the end was just as any other kid's life in the '60s and to some extent even nowadays (I am thinking of authoritative parents and teachers, school bullying, learning the 'facts of life'...). I have to mention though, that the movie is set in my hometown of Esch/Alzette and it was quite thrilling to see sights I know very well projected on the silver screen!