Le Petit Nicolas
Starring: Maxime Godart, Valerie Lemercier, Kad Merad, Sandrine Kiberlain Director: Laurent Tirard Category: IIA (French)
'My life is swell and I don't want anything to change,' the young protagonist says towards the end of his monologue, during which he relates (with help, of course, from corresponding visual vignettes) to the fantastic world he lives in.
His story - an adaptation of Rene Goscinny's 1959 book - offers a rose-tinted view of French life in the 1950s, a time when schoolboys in blazers and shorts run and cycle along cute Parisian streets, and recoil in genuine horror from fairytales with dark twists. Parental warfare goes no further than some bickering about where the new television set is to be placed; it's also a time when teachers can bark at their pupils - all white boys - for being 'the shame of France' for their rambling efforts in putting together a march in the playground.
Goscinny's spirit is very much alive in Laurent Tirard's film. A loyal adaptation of the 50-year-old book, Le Petit Nicolas never strays from its remit. The film is driven by a litany of visual gags that should play well with audiences seeking simple, innocent entertainment that doesn't take itself too seriously.
The central plot is Nicolas' (Maxime Godart) fear of his parents (Kad Merad and Valerie Lemercier, above with Godart) abandoning him if his mother gives birth to another child; so begins his attempts to dispel such a scenario with the help of his idiosyncratic friends.
Le Petit Nicolas draws freely from French heritage films (Les Choristes, for example) and Jacques Tati's comedies, and the result oozes a warm, cheery glow.
It's interesting to think the story could only have happened as the 1950s drew to a close, however: the film hints at social changes already afoot, such as the arrival of television and Nicolas' mother learning to drive - a sign of women leaving the home to become independent.
The 1960s would see colonial wars (fought in Algeria and then on Parisian streets) and social unrest, culminating in the upheavals of May 1968 and beyond - that Nicolas and his buddies would eventually confront as teenagers.
Le Petit Nicolas offers an escape - and some escapist entertainment too.
Le Petit Nicolas opens today
