The Grocer's Son

This pleasant, minor-register French romcom spins its yarn, develops its themes and fleshes out its characters with such surefootedness and ease that you would understand if someone such as Ben Stiller or Owen Wilson was lined up to star in a remake.

Actor Nicolas Cazalé brings charm and presence to the role of Antoine, the gruff, rudderless son of a rural grocer who harbours coiled affections for his attractive neighbour, Claire (Clotilde Hesme). When his father is hospitalised, he decides to leave the city (with Claire in tow) and help out by taking over his role as roving vendor, chugging around the countryside in an old van and passing on supplies to the region’s elderly and infirm. It’s a small, well-rounded movie that you’d be hard pressed to find fault with, achieving its modest goals with subtle aplomb while whipping up humour and empathy from Antoine’s rapport with his doddery clientele.