Product Details

• Actors: Gerard Depardieu, Gisele Casadesus
• Directors: Jean Becker
• Format: Blu-ray, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: French
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region A/1 (Read more about DVD/Blu-ray formats.)
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: NEW VIDEO GROUP
• DVD Release Date: June 19, 2012
• Run Time: 82 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B007I1Q4GS
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #169,715 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Review

It's determined to look on the bright side. The film isn't about the actor's intelligence. It's about his emotional radiance. --Boston Globe

excellent…a pleasure to watch --The New York Times

a movie of heart, soul and love --The Huffington Post

Product Description

Product Description

In a small French town, Germain (Gerard Depardieu, Cyrano de Bergerac, Potiche), a nearly illiterate man in his 50s who is considered the village idiot, takes a walk to the park and happens to sit beside Margueritte (Gisele Casadesus, Sarah’s Key), a little old lady who is reading excerpts from her novel aloud. She’s articulate, highly intelligent and frail. Germain is lured by Margueritte’s passion for life and the magic of literature from which he has always felt excluded. As Margueritte broadens his mind via reading excerpts from her novel, Germain realizes that he is more of an intellectual than he has ever allowed himself to be. Afternoons spent reading aloud on their favorite bench transform their lives and start them both on a new journey to literacy and respect for Germain, and to the deepest friendship for Margueritte.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing Film about a Deeply Beautiful Frienship October 14, 2011

By Gerard D. Launay TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:DVD

Gerard Depardieu is back...and this time in a sensitive, enchanting film about the beauty of a friendship between a nearly illiterate man and an elderly woman with a deep affection for books. Sitting on a park bench watching the pigeons play and interact, the woman - elegant, wise, but going blind - senses the honest heart of the man beside her, the character played by Depardieu. She warms up to him and vice versa. They end up loving each other, but not in the conventional way. She reads books aloud to him and finds out that he is an especially good listener.

It's not just about the love of books, it's about the love of loves. In an age where too many movies celebrate violence and sex, this is a gentle change of pace. And let me add that Giselle Casadesus - who plays the lead character - is a sensation.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars 3 and ½ stars: Love Generational Style June 28, 2012

By Edward Lee

Format:DVD

Based on a novel by Marie-Sabine Roger, MY AFTERNOONS WITH MARGUERITTE is pleasant, (mostly) family-friendly escapism that serves as a reminder to the young-at-heart who think they know it all. It's the uncharacteristic love story between Germain Chazes (played by Gerard Depardieu) and Margueritte (Gisele Casadesus), two neglected souls who share a park bench in a chance meeting where they talk about the pigeons. Immediately, the elder Margueritte takes a pleasant enough shine to Germain, who's viewed by the locals as a bit of a buffoon. Raised by a mother he believes never loved him, Germain lacked any real affection as a child. In flashbacks, we're shown that - throughout his school days - he was ostracized by students and teachers alike. He never quite `fit in' with any of his relationships, and, as a consequence, he strongly responds to Margueritte's courtesies. They continue to meet over the next several weeks, wherein the senior agrees to read to him from the books of her personal library.

In short, AFTERNOONS is an oddly effective `coming of age' story for both the principles. Margueritte - at her advanced age - lives what's left of her days in an assisted living community, where she's holed up with her books, rarely visited by her own family. By contrast, Germain sees the world plainly, engaging in such elementary tasks as naming each of the park's pigeons he feeds based on their observed behaviors. Margueritte becomes smitten by his honest (if not poetic) simplicity, and he slowly begins to realize he may be as "simple" as he's often dismissed himself. Like in any positive relationship, the two come to understand one another in unique ways that brings greater happiness to their lives, even though others scoff at the time they spend together.

Also, there's an odd narrative parallel running between two distinct love stories: (1) Germain and Margueritte, and (2) Germain and Annette (played by Sophie Guilleman), his legitimate girlfriend from town. There's the obvious generational difference between the simpleton and his elderly suitor-of-sorts, but there's a second one between Germain and Annette, who appears (at least to me) about 30 years his junior. The much-older-man with the much-younger-woman doesn't factor as prominent, but it's clear that the townsfolk have no reservations about those affections; by contrast, Germain receives much good-spirited "ribbing" for spending so much time with the old woman. I believe the statement made here is that it's odd how some relationships are accepted, if not encouraged, while others are frowned upon and the source of scorn.

In the end, Germain sees it as love. To be perfectly honest, it probably is, though it may not be the form most folks expect between a man and a woman. Also, given the fact that he's portrayed a bit as the village idiot, one could reasonably question whether it is or not. In the end, it doesn't matter, for, when you're exploring matters of the heart, all that really matters is what the two `lovers' feel. In that estimate, AFTERNOONS are worth spending in the comfort of your soul mate, and these two have definitely found one another.

MY AFTERNOONS WITH MARGUERITTE was produced by ICE3, K.J.B. Production, France 3 Cinema, Studio Canal, DD Productions, and a host of others. DVD distribution is being handled domestically by New Video Group. It all looks and sounds solid. Artistically, I had some trouble with Germain's flashbacks; they were filmed in the same fashion as the present-time parts of the narrative, and it would've been nice had the director chosen to set them apart visually a bit because, the first time it happened, I assumed we were in present day ... until the school boy answered to his name. It's a mild hiccup, but I thought it worth mentioning. No significant special features to speak of; a commentary might've been nice, but, alas, it wasn't meant to be.

RECOMMENDED. It's not a big picture. It isn't necessarily elegant or boldly dramatic in any particular way. Still, MY AFTERNOONS WITH MARGUERITTE is a pleasant enough diversion - one exploring a chance encounter that turns into an effective if unconventional relationship for both parties - brought to life convincingly by the two leads. It may not change the way you live your own life, but it just might make you think twice when you happen across an elderly spinster sitting on a park bench.

In the interests of fairness, I'm pleased to disclose that the good folks at New Video Group provided me with a DVD screener copy of MY AFTERNOONS WITH MARGUERITTE for the expressed purposes of completing this review.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A French Trifle: A Slight, But Pleasant, Drama Of Eccentricity And Chance Encounters June 19, 2012

By K. Harris HALL OF FAMETOP 10 REVIEWER

Format:Blu-ray

So amiable, pleasant, and likable--the French confection "My Afternoons with Margueritte" is pretty hard to resist. The film is set in a provincial town where everyone knows everyone else's business and the citizenry is populated with an expected assortment of eccentric character types. At the heart of the film is Gerard Depardieu playing, essentially, the village idiot. As a functional illiterate with a penchant for saying the wrong thing, most of the town laughs along with his antics. People like him, but he is taken primarily as comic relief. His tumultuous relationship with his mother hints at something a little darker beneath the surface and we see glimpses, both past and present, of a less genial life story. But we never dwell on anything too serious in this breezy little film.

But what of Margueritte? She is an elderly woman from a local home that has a chance encounter with Depardieu in the park. They bond over pigeons, and soon their one-time meet morphs into a regular encounter. She shares her love of books with him as she reads aloud and encourages him to embrace that it's never too late too learn. As their bond deepens into a loving friendship, there are a few stumbling blocks. It's all rather predictable, but always very sweet as well. I suppose it would have been very easy for this to have turned into overly sentimental treacle, but the pace is brisk and the actors are engaging--so it's a story you want to root for even if it holds few surprises.

The fact that the movie works as well as it does is certainly a testament to the two leads. I especially thought the great Gisele Casadesus had a pleasing matter-of-factness as the aforementioned Margueritte. When she and Depardieu play off one another, it is a real delight. Her faith in him gives him more confidence in himself, and it's a charming message. I might have toned down some of the unnecessary wackiness within peripheral storylines. I might also have liked to know how, given his reputation in town, Depardieu scored such a lovely and supportive girlfriend. But these are minor quibbles. "My Afternoons With Margueritte" is just a pleasant experience that you give yourself over to. I'm not sure that Jean Becker's film is going to linger with me for long, but I enjoyed it in the moment. KGHarris, 6/12.