Le P’tit curieux (2004) - film review

Clément, a nine year old boy, is curious about everything, but for some reason adults seem reluctant to explain the things that intrigue him – for instance, why his mother and father live apart.  So, armed with his digital camera, he carries out his own investigation, taking secret shots of strangers as they go about their business.  When he sees the corpse of young woman, the victim of a brutal assault, Clément uses his detective skills to try to uncover her killer...

Whilst there is something in the idea behind this film which has merit, the notion that children see the world very differently from adults, the approach taken by director Jean Marboeuf is so clinical and charmless that whatever appeal it has evaporates very quickly.   The uneven narrative style, the non-existent characterisation, the relentless clichés relating to childhood – the film has so many faults that it’s a real chore to stick it through right to the end.  Yet the film has one saving grace in the form of Milan Argaud, the engaging boy actor who plays the central character Clément.  He outshines everything else about this film and it’s sad that his film debut should be wasted on such an inconsequential, unattractive work as this.

© James Travers 2007

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