Les petites fugues

Les petites fugues is a marvellous movie. It's theme is serious, it's tone is light. The principal person of the movie is an old farmhand on an isolated farm in Switzerland. He buys himself a moped and along with it freedom (and not only) of movement. At first he enjoys his freedom, but later on he discovers that he cannot handle it very well. Strong points of this movie are : - The acting of Michel Robin - Many scenes are very hilarious, for instance the driving lessons; the party at the motor races etc. - Beautiful camerawork; in one instance even stunning. When the farmhand makes his first trip on his own the camera follows him in "birdsview" and by enlarging the distance the landscape opens up more and more thus symbolising in a convincing way the freedom he has gained. - The movie is very likable. Here in the Netherlands we can receive about 20 channels which broadcast movies. I cannot remember that this movie has been programmed in the last 10 years. I cannot understand why such a nice and accessible movie gets so little attention. It made me wonder if it's still available; many "Filmencyclopedies" don't mention it anymore. I'm glad I found it in the IMDB

This warmhearted and for start quiet movie about an old farm labourer shows us that life can for long time be quite dull and - even at the end of a life span - be sparked by a small incident and set off to another horizon. This is lovely and so utterly optimistic, it warms the viewers heart. If you get the chance, go see it.

Michel Robin is the star of this real precious film about oldness and dreams, about radical change of life of a farm, about a version of Madame Bovary, about parents, tradition against destroy of the legacy of past, about boredom and about sentimental adventure as result of it but, more important, about a venerable man and his second youth defined by moped and Italian lessons to use it, , motocros contest, photos, mount Cerveno and wise mix of humor, nostalgia, bitterness and flavors of fairy tale. Lovely film.

Cute and comforting – that's how one can describe this movie. The kind of "cuteness" that 'Cinema Paradiso' or 'The spirit of the beehive' or 'The grand highway' presents you with.

All-too-well-known characters, all-too-well-known days, but how much of a character resides beneath the surface? How much of a "special day" resides underneath a humdrum-'everyday'? - This movie is an authentic documentation of all our 'could-have-been' dreams of mundane 'everyday's. Doesn't matter if you are not a farmer in Switzerland, doesn't matter if you are not familiar with country life, you'll still be able to relate yourself perfectly with the main character, you'll still want to have your own small moped.

The movie has a number of strong points, the best to me being, sense of restraint of director Yves Yersin. As a result of this pinpoint precision, despite an inviting subject matter, the movie never imposes abstractness on viewers. While it never drifts too away from reality, it doesn't dwell merely in the reality. – Not many films can be attributed with this rare quality.

I recommend this movie strongly, it's a real gem.