Figure 1.-- A French reader mentions " Un Petit Parisien ", a TV-film of Sébastien Grall from the the book written by Dominique Janet.

A French reader mentions " Un Petit Parisien ", a TV-film of Sébastien Grall from the the book of Dominique Janet. He reports, "Benji a huit ans lorsque son père Claude, prisonnier de guerre est libéré. La famille s'installe à Paris mais la mère meurt d'une longue maladie. Claude est pourtant nommé au lycée Montaigne, comme professeur de lettres. Depuis le décès de sa femme il commence à mener une vie mondaine, s'entoure de femmes et collabore avec les allemands." That means, "Benji is 8 years old when his father Claude, a prisoner of war is released. The family settles in Paris but the mother dies of a ligering disease. Claude obtains an appointment to Montaigne college, as professor of letters. Since the death of his wife, he starts to carry out a fashionable life, surrounded by women and collaborating with the Germans." The cast was: Enzo Bosseti: "Benji" Thibault de Montalembert: "Claude" EliseTielrooy: "Dora"

Filmology

This was a made for TV movie. The film is based on a book by Dominique Jamet, Un petit Parisien, 1941-1945. Jamet is an important French political journalist.

Cast

The cast was: Enzo Bosseti (Benji), Thibault de Montalembert (Claude),and Elise Tielrooy (Dora).

Setting

The story is set in Paris during the World War II German occupation.

Plot

The plot is a typical French film. A French reader tells us that there are no car chases and crashes and no violence as is common in American films. It is a drama about the relationship between a boy (Benji) and his father (Claude)_in a cultured family. A French reader mentions " Un Petit Parisien ", a TV-film of Sébastien Grall from the the book of Dominique Janet. He reports, "Benji a huit ans lorsque son père Claude, prisonnier de guerre est libéré. La famille s'installe à Paris mais la mère meurt d'une longue maladie. Claude est pourtant nommé au lycée Montaigne, comme professeur de lettres. Depuis le décès de sa femme il commence à mener une vie mondaine, s'entoure de femmes et collabore avec les allemands." That means, "Benji is 8 years old when his father Claude, a prisoner of war is released. The family settles in Paris but the mother dies of a ligering disease. Claude obtains an appointment to Montaigne college, as professor of letters. Since the death of his wife, he starts to carry out a fashionable life, surrounded by women and collaborating with the Germans." The Lycée Montaigne, an academically selective secondary school, one of the most pretigious inf Paris.

Clothing

A French reader provides this assessment of the costuming, "The garments wore by the children are quite realistic , except the dresses and the short pants who are a bit too long for this period. The costume supervisor did not reserch World War II styles carefully. For instance, one can see a baby, which is dressed in 1960s styles! During the War, boy babies commonly wore rompers and girl babies short dresses. Short pants were worn by older boys, not babies. Normally boys began wearing short pants after they no longer needed diapers."

Reader Comments

A HBC reader reports, "I have quite love this film . The part of Benji was very beautifully acted by Enzo Bosseti.

Created: January 7, 2003
Last updated: January 8, 2003