A whimsical fairy tale set in Nazi-occupied France... what's wrong with this picture? Director Philippe de Broca is best known in the US for that ham-fisted bit of Vietnam-era fancy, KING OF HEARTS, an antiwar fable driven by the counterculture-friendly message that
cute crazy people see the world with clearer eyes than we do. His new film is the conspicuously heartwarming tale of an old botanist (Claude Rich) who's spent his life ducking trouble, and the ironic way in which the heroic fantasies he spins for his granddaughter (Salomee Stevenin) gradually
become the unintentional truth. The bitter, cynical subtext -- that the French bourgeoisie were collaborationist...
Released:
1995
Rated:
NR
Length:
93 mins