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Les Petites Vacances (2006)

Director: Olivier Peyon

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From Time Out London

Nouvelle Vague muse Bernadette Lafont is mesmerising as a grandmother on the run in this finely wrought, leisurely debut from Olivier Peyon. After taking her two semi-estranged grandchildren for a mini-break in the Alps, Danièle (Lafont) can’t bring herself to return the pair to their parents. What begins as a wretched attempt to reinstate herself into the kids’ lives soon develops into a cry for help as holiday turns to road-trip turns to journey into the abyss. Though Danièle first appears jolly and sympathetic with a certain veiled intrigue, she’s a balancing act that Peyon doesn’t quite pull off: he and co-writers Cyril Brody and Gladys Marciano feel duty bound to explain away her emotional maladies in order to keep a tight leash around the audience’s neck when a looser, more conflicting character would have been more satisfying. Still, even though the precisely layered, Jenga-tower narrative becomes tiresome towards the end, punches that could have easily been pulled in the final scenes make firm and full contact.

Author: David Jenkins 2006-10-19 15:07:30

Time Out London Issue 1923: June 27-July July 3 2007

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Les Petites Vacances

Cast & crew

Director: Olivier Peyon

Producer: Gérard Lacroix, Gérard Pont, Edgard Tenenbaum

Cast: Bernadette Lafont, Claude Brasseur, Adèle Crech, Lucas Franchi, Claire Nadeau, Eric Savin, Benjamin Rolland, Béatrice Chéramy, Mireille Roussel, Pierre Pradinas, Jérémy Stone full cast

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy

Duration: 90 mins


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