Pupille

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!

Théo is a sweet little newborn boy. His young biological mother doesn´t want to keep him. Therefore, the adoption process begins. Théo meets quite many new people who cares for and helps him.

We also meet Alice in this movie. She is a woman with a kind, warm and caring personality. She has applied to become an adoptive parent for a couple of years.

"In Safe Hands" is an intimate story in my opinion. It drew me in quickly. I really wanted things to work out for little Théo. He honestly deserves the very best. I think that the people in the adoption process treated him and his biological mother with kindness, respect and calmness.

I only missed two things in this movie. I wanted to know much more about Théo´s biological mother. And some things were quite unclear when it comes to Karine´s love life. But I can absolutely recommend "In Safe Hands"! I don´t regret watching this movie. I think that it deserves a larger audience.

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.

It's been a long time since I have seen a new film that moved me like this one. I saw it as part of a virtual film festival. The cast and chemistry is wonderful but the infant steals every scene. One of those films that will undoubtedly stay with you forever.

There is no need to talk about spoilers, this movie ... this story is beautiful. It is not just a story, it's about a path to anyone desiring to adopt a child. Moreover, this movie treats the adoption of a ward (pupille) from the beginning and I think it could help many mothers who don't want to keep their child.

The actors carry the movie beyond the initial purpose because it's not a documentary, it's the life of many people all along this adoption. I have to point out the filmmaking ... I was truly engrossed until the end. Every scene is realistic but I will say no more here, enjoy =)