The Secret of Polichinelle

A gentle, talky French comedy that risks sentimentality but keeps things light with warm performances and small domestic comic moments.

Directed by

André Berthomieu

Starring

Raimu, Françoise Rosay, André Alerme

Overview

Secret de Polichinelle roughly translates as Open Secret. The "secret" in question is an illegitimate child, the offspring of young-and-foolish Henri (Bernard Lacret). The baby is adopted by its grandparents, Monsieur and Madame Jouvenol (Raimu and Francoise Rosay). At first taking charge of the child because it is their duty, the Jouvenols come to love the little nipper as if he were their own son. At this point, the film threatens to drown in a morass of sentiment, but the actors and the director manage to stem the bathos with some first-rate comedy vignettes revolving around the care and feeding of the bouncing baby boy.

How it feels

Measured and easy to follow.

About

Family, parenthood, love

Content

Mild sexual content. No violence, gore or swearing.

Note

Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown

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