Tim Kidner I'm not going to pretend that I'm interested particularly in the politics of the period in question, nor the period itself, for that matter.We're talking about the '70's and communist ideals, namely supporting another country, or regime by proxy. In this case, to make up for perceived neglected family duties - the father who's Spanish, with his French wife and three young children in Paris. Meetings, with an array of strangers forever coming and going are seen through the eyes of the preciously gifted and inquisitive 9 y.o. and which propels this film.Her (Nina Kerval) questioning starts out as seeking explanations as to the family's downward change in social status, where she's picked on at school for having weird parents, who eat weird food and have strange friends. As with any precocious child, questions follow the answers, the parents often not sure of the answers themselves let alone what to tell the children, as ideals in theory are often more difficult in practice. It's this mix of naivety, self exploration and quest for human knowledge that raises this film above an ordinary one. How, we all as kids would counteract a mistake made by a parent, often by contradiction and how we'd exaggerate it enormously. It was our way of showing how smart we were and how wrong and fallible, and lovable they were by being wrong. Usually Anna (the girl) gets it wrong, in both context and intent; not hilariously so but with a knowing amusement we observe Kerval's subtle but wide range of expressions. We are indeed looking at a great actress in the making.Other than that, I found the film quite claustrophobic with the glum interiors of 70's - stale browns and oranges and mostly glum characters dressed similarly and not having a great time. It revealed little historically. Maybe parents could view it as a study as to how to juggle family needs with maintaining a political (or other) ideal and the obvious sacrifices that ultimately entails.

jotix100 The family of Anna DelaMesa come from bourgeois backgrounds. It is then, surprising, the path both decided to follow politically. The father, Fernando, a Spaniard, had lived in France as an exile for many years, never returning to visit his own family in Spain. The mother, Marie, is the daughter of wealthy parents who live in some splendor in a rural part of France.When we first see them, they are celebrating the wedding of Isabelle. Fernando, a brooding man, has recently been joined by his sister Marga and her own kid, Pilar, something they did to avoid being taken into custody by the Franco regime. Marie and Fernando agree in letting them stay with them for a while, something that Anna doesn't appreciate since her cousin only speaks Spanish. Anna, who attends a catholic school in Paris, taught by nuns, sees the world around her from a grown up point of view. She can't say much about what she perceives, yet a lot of things affect her. Take her parents' involvement with the leftist Chilean regime of Salvador Allende. Fernando and Marie have been instrumental in his election, having even left the children behind in France to work for the cause. Anna, is a highly sensitive girl whose life is deeply affected by the way her parents act toward her and Francois, her younger brother. To make matters worse, Anna is told to stay away from religion classes at her school. She becomes the center of attraction as the other girls can't grasp why is Anna different, something that she tries to cope with, but to her young mind, is never solved. Julie Gavras, the daughter of famous director Costa Gavras, tried her hand at directing before. This is her second try behind the camera. We have not read the novel which served as the basis of the film, which is misleading, since one expects to refer to a Cuban situation, when in reality, the DelaMesas work to help the regime of Chile's former president Allende.Ms. Gavras must be congratulated for the work she got from child actress Nina Kervel-Bey, a girl of maybe seven years who does an amazing performance, and through whom all the action revolves. Others in the film, Stefano Accorsi, who has been working in France lately, plays the father of Anna. Also notable, Julie Depardieu, daughter of Gerard and Elisabeth, in the role of Marie.Although the film is based on an Italian novel, one wonders how much is autobiographical, given Ms. Gavra's own background. Maybe she was meant to be the right person to bring the story to the screen.

Roland E. Zwick Set in the politically turbulent Paris of the1970s, "Blame it on Fidel" tells of a sheltered young girl who has her comfortable bourgeois existence ripped away from her after her staid, conformist parents (Julie Depardieu, Stefano Accorsi) suddenly become born again leftist radicals. Anna is forced to give up the home she loves and the nanny she adores when her father quits his job in order to dedicate himself full time to fighting for the proletariat against the repressive corporate powers of the world. The family moves from their spacious home in the country to a cramped apartment in the city, which is often filled with bearded revolutionaries who utter strange catch-phrases in barely audible whispers.Thanks to a thoughtful script and sensitive direction, "Blame it on Fidel" manages to provide a compelling child's-eye view of the adult world. Incapable of grasping the "big picture" as her parents see it, Anna knows only that the family is now woefully short on cash (she runs around the house flipping off light switches and heaters to save electricity), and that her mother and father are so preoccupied with their "cause" that Anna and her little brother (the adorable, scene-stealing Benjamin Feuillet) seem to have been relegated to mere afterthoughts in their parents' tremendously busy lives. In a performance rich in insight and wisdom and utterly un-self-conscious in tone, nine-year-old Nina Kervel-Bey brings to life a character who often doesn't fully understand what's going on in the world around her but who never gives up trying to figure it all out. For a good part of the time, Anna is torn between childish curiosity and an indefinable sense of shame regarding her parents' newfound activities. Yet, through keen observation and endless questioning, and the eventual piecing together of the many unfiltered fragments that come floating her way, Anne is finally able to come to some kind of understanding, however imperfect, of the much larger world community of which she is only a very small but crucial part.Despite the inherently ideological nature of the material, writer/director Julie Gavras, the daughter of famed filmmaker Costa-Gavras, keeps most of the political stuff in the background while she concentrates on the strain the grownups feel as they strive to juggle their save-the-world activities with their duties as parents.Add to this some excellent performances by a talented cast and a rich, flavorful score by Armand Amar and "Blame it on Fidel" becomes a film well worth checking out. In this her second venture as a director, Ms. Gavras has done her old man proud.

josemanuelsalgado Hard social facts are faced from the perspective of a little and very smart and inquiring child, although there's no violent scene on the movie the political tension is well expressed by the parents and friends, to the very confussion of the girl.. i don't remember her name, but her performance is outstanding, its very interesting how she interchange her wasys from childish feelings and behavour to thoughtful and even worried attitudes, being all the time very credible, the picture has a sad background, but the bright of the girl as the protagonist gives the element of hope, being the picture not sad but quite interesting and rich, with a lot of joyful funny moments. I really recommend this great movie.