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, Jhemp Hoscheid (novel)

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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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

Nice, but still, not excellent

This is the last "big" Luxembourgian movie, and, as always when featuring a local production, everyone gotta see it. Most people were disappointed after Andy Bausch's "Deep Frozen" but, on the other hand, quite delighted after watching Perl oder Pica. It's a quite interesting movie commenting on general Luxembourgian issues. It is not crucial to have some basic knowledge on "our" history, but on some points somehow useful. I had quite the impression that Pol Cruchten took care on keeping the film accessible to "strangers" without losing the insider character. The strong point of this film is the exposure of Luxembourgian life which he watches in a very subtle ways and takes care not to cosmeticize it, nor to make fun of it. It offers a good insight in the life, how it used to be in the sixties, which he draws probably from his own experience. Nevertheless, the film got some flaws. Mainly the absence of any strand confuses the audience. The movie tells so many different stories without sticking to one real idea. For me, he main idea of the film is handled in one or two sentences and that's it. It just lacks of clarity which Pol Cruchten might not be the only one to blame, it's mainly because of an only average script which makes this an average movie. I would say that everyone interested in Luxembourg or Luxembourgian history should watch this movie as it offers an amusing, not boring, insight on their culture (or shows "your" culture from a different point of view), but I would not see the point for anyone else, watching that movie. There are surely equally good movies in your language, whether it is Hebrew or French. Voilà!

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:

EUR2,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$6,742

Company Credits

Production Co:

Red Lion Sarl, Amour Fou Vienna

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1