Églantine

I have this movie on VHS for about 10 years. Once or two times each year, I look at it with the same joy. This is a touching and beautiful movie about two children and their relations

with their dear grandmother. The story goes in the early days of the XXe century, in a country side of France. Landscapes are gorgeous. They look like a Monet or Renoir painting. This is a simple story of day to day life during the summer vacations of the two children. The French have always been very good in that kind of movie (Recently in Les enfants du marais, or about 10 years ago in La Gloire de mon père.) It is also very touching to see aging actress Valentine Tessier, who was a great lady of the French Theatre world in the 1910's and 1920's. See this! It's like a deep breath of fresh air.

Jean-Claude Brialy ,a very talented French actor,when it comes to directing ,has always kept his child's soul.He transferred to the screen two novels written by the comtesse de Segur "les Malheurs de Sophie" and " un Bon Petit Diable" .Those choices were predictable"in the wake of "Eglantine" ,which could have been written by the dear old countess:the old grandma with all her grandsons on her knee in her castle is a thing of a distant past ,but deliciously charming.It's not all finer feelings since the adults are not that much nice.In his memoirs "j'ai oublié de vous dire" ,Brialy is not kind with his own family:hence perhaps the need to build an imaginary one.Only for people who are still having their child's soul.I'm part of them,of course.