My Afternoons With Margueritte (La Tête En Friche)

I knew when I decided to watch the French film My Afternoons With Margueritte that I was selecting a superior movie. I was absolutely correct because this is an excellent heart-warming movie. I think I can put this movie on One-of-My-Favorite-Movies list. It stars  Gérard Depardieu, Gisèle Casadesus, and Maurane.

My Afternoons with Margueritte not only tells a beautiful story of the people who live in a small French provincial town filled with eccentric, lovable characters but also interweaves the literature of Camus and Romain Gary.

Gerard Depardieu stars as Germain, a giant hulking mass of man who is both likable and a bit of a target for barbs by his buddies at the café where they all hang out. Germain was mistreated as a child by his mother and teacher, and never developed any self-esteem or refined social skills.  Germain is the kind of guy who tends a garden of home grown veggies, and finishes his handyman work when the job is done, even if it means he gets cheated out of a few dollars.

One day Germain meets Margueritte (Gisele Casadesus) on a park bench where both like to feed the pigeons. The two of them fall in love, but it is not quite that simple. Margueritte is 95-years old and lives at a retirement center nearby. Her world consists mostly of reading books and counting pigeons until she meets Germain. Her wise, but failing eyes, recognize a wounded man with a giant and kind heart, who is a wonderful listener as she reads books aloud to Germain. Margueritte helps him find himself through the words she reads.

I highly recommend My Afternoons With Margueritte. You will not see many films better than this one.