En buenas manos

Do not miss the Last few seconds of French writer/director Jeanne Herry's poignant movie, "In Safe Hands", (Pupille). About an infant's journey through the French adoption system. I was so affected by this movie. Baby Théo and all the baby Theos passed through adoption systems, sometimes for months before they are placed with their adoptive parent(s), will forever be impressed upon my heart and mind. This very well directed amazing cast and story that focuses on baby but also touches on the lives of the many people involved in Theo's first three months of life brought laughs, tears and pondering for which I am glad to have experienced. Again, do not miss the last split second!

There is no doubt the subject matter of the French fostering and adoption system is an important topic and one which I guess most people know little or nothing about, and, assuming the system in my home country of England is not too dissimilar, it was very educational for me. Emotion inevitably comes into it as we see an unwanted baby boy pass from his birth, through the system, to his eventual new home. The film is slow paced, which was not remotely a problem for me but may be for some. The acting,and production are all very good.

My main problem with the film was it just seemed too bland. Whilst I appreciate the characters were meant to be realistic, we are nonetheless watching a drama not a documentary and so artistic licence is allowed. When such licence was employed it came across as totally contrived, almost for the sake of it. The script was also just a bit too dry. Whilst life is the primary subject of the film, there was a real lack of sparkle to it, a lack of life.

I found it enjoyable, and in some ways an important film to see from an educational perspective, but feel in the hands of superior film makers it could have been so much better (the Dardenne brothers immediately come to mind).

With all the reality TV there is around these days, if there are any documentaries on the same subject then I would suggest watching them instead of this.

This movie manipulates the viewer in the name of some preconceived moral values concerning child caring and parenthood.

Montage technique used all along the film seems to be an outdated technique which does not quite fit to the idea of the movie

Théo, a baby born anonymously, is given up for adoption the day of his birth. The biological mother has two months to reconsider her decision... or not. In the meantime, the child welfare and adoption services are working hard. The first to take care of the newborn, the second to find an adoptive mother. Her name is Alice, she is 41 years old and she has been fighting for ten years to have a child.

Baby, anonymous delivery, adoption, one fears the syrupy soap or the two-bit photo novel. Don't worry, it's not! On the contrary, Jeanne Herry's (Miou-Miou's daughter) attentive pen and camera know how to find the right measure and the perfect angle of attack at every moment. As interesting as it is moving, the film harmoniously mixes the pedagogy of a documentary with the great emotions of a successful fiction. On the information side, we are put at the heart of the teams that work around the infant (caregivers, specialized educators, adoption officers). On the emotional side, we follow the long and painful journey of Théo's candidate for adoption (sensitive Élodie Bouchez). All of the actors in the film are to be commended for their ability to capture both the strengths and weaknesses of their characters. However, are particularly to be praised Sandrine Kiberlain as an empathetic social worker, Olivia Côte as the firm but understanding head of the adoption service as well as the most endearing of them all - divine surprise-, macho Gilles Lellouche as the baby's tender provisional father. A luminous work, which does honor to French cinema.

I would have never thought my story could one day be made into a film! I came across it by chance and got stuck till the last minute. I literally relived my own story as an adoptant mum in France : the heavy system, the waiting, the hopes and fails.

Everything in the storyboard reminded me of what we went through.

The actors, and most particularly Elodie Bouchez, manage to convey the despair and feelings I felt through the adoption process. Adoption is a battle worth fighting for which is well described in this sensitive film.

My child is fifteen today and when the right time comes, we must watch this film together.