Horst in Translation ([email protected]) "Le petit Nicholas" or "Little Nick" is a French 90-minute movie from 6 years ago. It is 100% comedy from start to finish and all the slightly dramatic scenes also have a humorous undertone. I must say I enjoyed the watch here, just like I did for the sequel that stars several people from this film, but has a new kid as the title character, probably because Maxime Godart was too old for the role by 2014. Writer and director Laurent Tirard scored a couple prestigious nominations for his work here, a.o. at the Césars and European Film Awards. This film is certainly a good watch for younger audiences, but also grown-ups. In my opinion, there is not much of a story or plot in this film here. It is more of a collection of flashbacks and funny, slightly awkward situations. I found the kid who always has to go to the school room's corner pretty funny. This is also an example of how an actually serious situations gets a nice little undertone, for example when he shows the other boy the corner. The other boy, in this case, is the one who always gets the best grades. He was fairly funny as well.This is not a film that requires a great plot or great acting to work. There is a smart script here and it was nicely executed. I certainly recommend seeing it and I also recommend the sequel, which is very similar in terms of the basics, only that Little Nick makes holidays in that one. Oh yeah, the one who invented the character of Little Nick is René Goscinny, who also wrote the incredibly famous and entertaining Asterix books. I like the way Tirard elaborated on the character here, but even more how he elaborated on all the supporting characters. I cannot deny that, in my opinion, it was these that make the movie and they are also the ones who have the funniest scenes. These 1.5 hours may not be the right choice if you are looking for something really significant, but if you are in the mood for something easy with cute tongue-in-cheek humour that is not only French in theory but has some typical laissez-faire scenes, then "Le petit Nicholas" is a good pick. Thumbs up.

Karl Self I love the "Petit Nicholas" books and René Goscinny is a personal god of mine, so I was very sceptical about this film. Especially because it's not "real-life" rather than a cartoon, whereas Jean-Jacques Sempés illustrations were essential to the charme of the books. But then the reviews were good and I gave it a try.If you look at Goscinny's humour, it's almost reactionary. There's the fat guy, the rich kid, the dimwit, the four-eyed squealer, the easily- ired father, the just-a-housewife mother. And they all translate well onto film. Goscinny's humour stems from letting those characters interact predictably but creatively and with perfect timing, and this movie's makers managed to closely reproduce Goscinny's genius.It's funny and escapist -- nothing more. Childhood as it should be. Sempé himself said that he created the childhood for little Nick he never had for himself.

n-mo French people might understandably be disappointed by a theatrical adaptation of the beloved Petit Nicolas, a character so familiar from their childhoods, but as one who was never mesmerized by the original form of these character, I did not go into this with expectations.But it's a fun little ride. The costumes, the décor and the acting are all impeccable--Valérie Lemercier is especially delightful. So, too, is the writing: the story is predictable, tidy, socially non-offensive and slightly fantastical--but self-consciously so. It is a tribute to and a mild, good-natured parody of 1950's aesthetic and moral values in filmmaking, and it works very well. Most contemporary period films delight in opening up the curtains on the skeletons of what they see as "repressed" past societies and in poisoning our sentimental collective memories with gritty filth (see « 8 femmes » for an excellent French example; "Titanic" for a classic Anglo-American textbook example).« Le petit Nicolas » is just here to remind us of what we were once supposed to try for--and it makes us wonder if it wasn't in some ways better than what we have ended up with... without, of course, being too moralizing. It makes for a good little weekday evening pick-me-up.

egillsigurdur This movie is amazing. It is not often that I go to see a foreign movie, but people had told me how good this one was so I just went. And I do not regret it. The actors all seem to fit perfectly for their part. I found it hard to imagine how they were any different in real life. One gets kind of nostalgic, seeing those children in their school uniforms. The story is just wonderful, and it is really, really humorous, the entire audience laughed throughout the movie. It is not that kind of funny in the way normal Adam Sandler and those Hollywood movies are. It has something more to it, it is not, well, hollow (cannot really describe it). The way the director has got this set up, to see the world the way a kid sees it, to look into what's going through their mind, this is all just wonderful. I walked out of there with a little smile on, I was all fuzzy after having laughed so much.I would really like it if my town would start showing more foreign movies like this one.