Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageLa Fracture du myocarde (1990)
Director: Jacques Fansten
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Snapped up by Hollywood for a remake by Spielberg, this is the best story about kids since Stand by Me. 12-year-old Martin (Copans), terrified that he will be sent to an orphanage, conceals the fact that his mother has died. His classmates band together to keep the secret and outwit the authorities. The burial of the corpse in baking foil with a grandfather clock as a coffin is funny, touching, and memorably surreal. Martin's friends steal food from home for him, learn to forge his mother's signature, and devise scams at school to derail parent meetings. The adult world - and the usual sexual rites of passage - are seen as largely irrelevant. Social workers are useless, teachers have forgotten what it was like to be a child, and there are no villains. Neither sentimental nor melodramatic, the film earns its tragic ending. Collective playing by the large cast of kids is excellent.Author: BC
Cast & crew
Director: Jacques Fansten
Producer: Ludi Boeken, Jacques Fansten
Cast: Sylvain Copans, Nicolas Parodi, Cécilia Rouaud, Delphine Gouttman, Olivier Montiège, Lucie Blossier full cast
Genre(s): Comedy
Duration: 105 mins
Top Stories
Ridley Scott interview
Director Ridley Scott tells Cath Clarke why he's making a science fiction comeback
Cannes Film Festival 2012: half-time report
Dave Calhoun reports on the hits, misses and a shocking new masterpiece from Michael Haneke
What do you think?
Post your review now