Le Grand chemin (1987)
Directed by Jean-Loup Hubert

Film Review

Le Grand chemin is an outstanding example of a genre of cinema which French film makers have a particular aptitude for - the bittersweet coming of age drama.  Thoroughly engaging through its charming but unromantic portrayal of country life and convincing acting performances, this is a film which appeals to its audience at many levels and leaves a lasting impression.   Moments of great poignancy are brilliantly captured with the minimum of sentimentality, whilst some gentle comedy is used effectively to offset the scenes of great dramatic intensity.  Life is a mix of tragedy and comedy, usually in equal measure, and by following that principle, the film maintains a sense of realism whilst entertaining and enchanting its audience.

The film emphasises the vulnerability of a young boy entering adolescence by an effective narrative style, which shows two very differerent worlds brought into painful contact.  The young boy who is at the heart of the film, Louis, has clearly lived a relatively happy life up until the instant when his mother leaves him with his aunt and uncle, even though he has not seen his father for some time.  He is immediately shocked by the raw brutality of country life (rabbits being removed from their pyjamas), but this is merely a foretaste for what lies ahead.  In the course of the next few weeks, he discovers that a married couple can hate one another, he learns about death, and then he discovers the bizarre ritual of sexual intercourse.  Like Alice in Wonderland, Louis has crossed the threshold into another world, the world of adulthood, corrupt, flawed and quite terrifying to the new arrival.  But unlike Alice, the young boy finds himself trapped in his new world - he cannot return to his former home of childhood innocence.

The character of the boy Louis is superbly portrayed by Antoine Hubert, the son of the film's director, Jean-Loup Hubert, with a nearly equally impressive performance by Vanessa Guedj, who plays Louis' friend, Martine.  It is a remarkable childhood double-act which bears more than a passing reminiscence to that of Georges Poujouly and Brigitte Fossey in René Clément's 1952 classic, Jeux Interdits (with the roles reversed), another tale of childhood innocence tainted by the adult world.

Richard Bohringer gives one of the most striking performances of his career as Louis' seemingly misanthropic uncle Pelo.  The actor's talent is more than evident in a demanding role which requires him to portray a character who at first sight appears to be a dangerous ogre, but who is in reality just an old sentimental at heart.   There is another strong performance from Anémone, who plays Louis' aunt Marcelle - a convincing portrayal of a young woman whose life experiences have given her a thick skin to conceal, but not erase, her grief and vulnerability.  Bohringer and Anémone were each awarded Césars for their fine work on this film.

An inferior American remake of the film, entitled Paradise was released in 1991, directed by Mary Agnès Donogue and starring Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson.

Film Synopsis

In the summer of 1959, a coach arrives in a small village in rural Brittany, bringing a pregnant mother Claire and her nine-year-old son Louis.  Claire has just separated from her husband and is anxious to place her little boy in the care of a childhood friend of hers, Marcelle, before she goes into labour.  For a child who has so far spent his entire life in Paris, living in the country proves to be quite an adventure.  Louis soon settles in with his temporary foster parents, Marcelle and her husband Pelo, although he spends most of his time in the company of his new friend Martine, a girl of his own age who is the daughter of a neighbour.

Martine seems to know far more about life than her companion, and through her Louis will begin to make the first tentative steps towards adolescence.  It isn't long before the he notices the barely contained antagonism that exists between Marcelle and Pelo.  It worries him, but he is too young to understand the reason for it, which is that these two still haven't got over the loss of their own child some years ago.  Louis's presence has had the effect of reawakening their intense personal grief, with the result that, one evening, they end up having a fierce row.  Terrified, Louis runs away and seeks sanctuary in a nearby church.  His gradual initiation into the adult world is proving to be a more painful experience than he can bear...