Un bon petit diable

Brilliant actor Jean-Claude Brialy who was one of Claude Chabrol's favorite stars -"les cousins" "le beau Serge" -directed pleasant if minor movies.His most successful work is probably "Eglantine" (1971) which told the story of a sweet grannie who used to gather her grandchildren in a castle : a perfume of nostalgia lingered after the viewing.

"Un bon petit diable" ,after uneven works,comes back to childhood.One of the comtesse de Ségur's most popular works,it tells the tale of an orphan ,Charles,mistreated by his wicked old cousin Madame Mac Miche (the part was tailor made for late Alice Sapricht);nevertheless,Charles has many friends including sweet blind young Juliette and her sister Marianne, Mac Miche's maid ,Betty (A colorful Bernadette Laffont,herself one of Chabrol's favorites too),her boyfriend Donald ,and even the judge .

Brialy had already directed Ségur"s "les malheurs de Sophie" before he made "un bon petit diable" .Both works are unpretentious and pleasant if you read the books when you were a child.

Only the first half of the novel is actually transferred to the screen.Juliette and Marianne play very minor parts in the flick whereas they were important characters in the novel.

If you have ever read any novels by La Comtesse De Sequr you'll realize these books on life are much more revealing than can be successfully transferred to the screen. Yet, under the direction of director Jean- Claude Brialy, it comes touchingly close. This is a French film about a young ten year old who parents' have died leaving him in the abusive care of his brutal Aunt Alice (Leontine MacMiche) who has little compassion for young Charles, (Paul Courtois). His only safeguard is 'Betty' (Bernadette Lafon) a kindly maid in the employ of Madame MacMiche. Taking advantage of the Old woman's superstitious nature, Betty is able to curtail the unnecessary punishments she inflicts on the boy. Believing she can squander Charles' inheritance if the boy were transferred to an orphanage, she conspires with unscrupulous businessmen to house him with other boys in another brutal environment run by greedy, selfish and unimpassioned men. The movie is enhanced with common village Life and it's daily routines which includes funerals and weddings alike. It's a spirited movie displaying the universal traits of good and bad people everywhere. Still, if one desires a visit to early 19th century Normandy this is the movie for you. Recommended. ****