La petite Fadette

I discovered this one quite by chance, my wife asked me to tape it for her off the TV shortly before Xmas 2004 ! It's based on a novel by French Novelist George Sand and is set in the Berry region, Sand's birthplace. The Berry region is in central France, south-east of a town called Chateauroux,includes the town of Bourges and of course the village of Nohant, where George Sand herself actually lived. Having visited it myself, I can affirm that the area is charming and unspoiled even today and it is this same area which is the setting for this film.

It's a film about true love between two young people where there respective families try to get in the way of their happiness for financial reasons. Basically the boy's family want him to marry someone else to benefit from her dowry. In addition to that, Fadette, the young lady with whom the boy is really in love ( and boy, do we see it throughout the film !! ) is considered by the rest of the village to be some kind of malevolent witch to be avoided at all costs. The boy is one of twins and there is also a special relationship with his twin brother which conflicts with the love he has for Fadette.

I will add no more for fear of spoiling the story but I think it is impeccably acted and filmed. As it is only a TV film, I fear it may not make it beyond the frontiers of France, except to French speaking areas of Canada and Belgium. A great pity though as it is a very pleasant little film indeed. Great attention seems to have been paid to décors and lighting - the actors, apart from Richard Bohringer and Annie Girardot are not well known but carry the plot marvellously.

With a bit of luck this may be issued on DVD in France at least. With a title that seems untranslateable, keep an eye out for it on the TV in your country. You never know, miracles can happen .................

"La¨ petite Fadette" belongs to George Sand's country novels ,probably her most famous with "La Mare Au Diable".

As the precedent user points out,the landscapes are superb,the screenplay is well written ,and the acting is generally good,even outstanding : Jérémie Rénier is Landry Barbeau as Sand created him,he tries to be a man but breaks like a little boy ,he seems overtaken by events ,even more than in the novel ;Rénier who really began his career with François Ozon ("Les Amants Criminels" ),is one of today's more gifted European actors;Grandma Fadet is a character which was developed for the screen and it's not a problem for she is portrayed by the admirable Annie Girardot in one of her last parts ;she steals the show from her granddaughter ,the heroine (Mélanie Bernier) ,in every scene she is with her .

A well-written screenplay ,it certainly is,but does it capture Sand's spirit ,the atmosphere of the Berry country in the nineteenth century? I have my doubts :the novel has undergone lots of changes,some of which were needed (the fortune Fadette discovers after grandma's death) ,some less so;the scene when Landry gets lost in the forest is a fiasco : the atmosphere of mystery ,will-o'-the-wisps', the hero's fear in this dark forest where Fadette might have secret powers ,nothing remains of the writer's magic ;but if this is bad,the scene of the ball is worse : showing the peasants dancing the waltz is downright embarrassing ;read again Sand's depiction :it takes place after the Sunday service,and boys and girls ,in their Sunday's best (folk costumes) ,dance the Bourrée and eat "Fromentée "(sort of wheat porridge) beneath the shady trees ;it has nothing to do with the chic people of the film ;to make the matters worse,Sylvinet helps his twin brother with a gun!

The characters have undergone some changes too: Fadette ,who was on the paper an outcast becomes an outspoken girl,a rebel against the well-meaning villagers ;she even strips bare ,and she does not become gorgeous ,she IS, from the beginning to the end;Madelon looks more like a betrayed girl than the coquette affected girl of the book in which she plays a more minor part ;it's the main change of the story :Madelon and Landry do get engaged ,and it is a money match because the father (the always reliable Richard Bohringer) needs the girl's dowry .

However,this MTV movie remains faithful like a dog to the book as far as the twins' relationship is concerned :sometimes a bit heavy-handed (the scenes in the river are naive symbolism) ,it nevertheless keeps the psychological problems of the Bessons (patois for "twins") ,which ,still relevant today ,represents the most modern aspect of Sand's novel ;Maximilien Muller is completely overshadowed by Rénier (besides the twins were both blond!) ,but the movie does not suffer for it,because Sylvinet was a secret bland irresolute boy,lost when his brother was away .

What's terribly lacking is finally the sound of the bagpipes and the hurdy-gurdy!

It has nothing in common with the book, and it is too bad because the book is very good. Here the movie is shallow, most of the story is missing to focus on a mundane love story. The book is more modern than the movie. If the direction, acting and scenario were outstanding it voule be a good TV film but it is not the case. It can be easily forgotten, or even better, skipped.