Daniel Duval has some fifty acting credits to his name not least the father in Will It Snow For Christmas and this is by far the best of the handful of films he's directed overflowing with warmth and charm. In some ways it covers similar ground to Le Grand Chemin inasmuch as a young boy is initially a fish out of water in the countryside but learns to adapt. This time around he's an orphan adopted by Jean-Paul Rouve and Ann Brochet who take him back to their farm half a century ago. There seems to be something of a vogue at the moment for lost Ruralism in France and perhaps it takes a townie like me to revel in lyrical scenes of ploughing, haymaking etc from a seat in the cinema where I don't have to rely on a well for water or a kettle to make it hot. The icing on the cake is Annie Girardot and the touching and loving relationship between her and our young hero is at the very core of the film and Denis Podalydes is also on hand as the local schoolmaster who thinks nothing in those far off days when PC meant only a Police Constable of grabbing a boy by the ear and marching him to the front of the class or even out the door. If, like me, you enjoy nostalgia once-removed then this is surely for you.
Review of Le temps des porte-plumes
