Movie

Michou d'Auber

2007 · 124 min

A gentle, bittersweet story of belonging and hidden identity, with moments of warmth and quiet tension.

Directed by: Thomas Gilou
Genres: Drama, Thriller
Starring: Gérard Depardieu, Nathalie Baye, Mathieu Amalric

Overview: Set in France during the struggle for Algerian independence, Messaoud's mother is terminally ill and his father, needing to work long hours in the factory, can't look after him, so decides to put him and his older brother Abdel in foster care. Sent to the countryside, Abdel has to work on a farm, but Messaoud is taken in by a childless woman, who conceals his Arab origins from her fiercely Gaullist ex-army husband. Re-named Michel/Michou, and with his hair comically dyed blond, the young boy quickly steals the hearts of both foster-parents, and eventually is instrumental in saving their troubled marriage.

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In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.

Directed by: Thomas Gilou
Genres: Drama, Thriller
Starring: Gérard Depardieu, Nathalie Baye, Mathieu Amalric

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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone: warmstrength 2 of 3
melancholicstrength 2 of 3
tensestrength 1 of 3
earneststrength 2 of 3
Pacing: measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: family
identity
isolation
love
class
Places: countryside
small town
Era: period
Audience: teen
Form: None
Content intensity: Gore none
Language mild
Violence mild
Sex mild

All scales, 0 to 10

Scales, 0 to 10
Scale	Value	0 to 10
Action	1
Horror	0
Humour	3
Realism	7
Romance	2
Tension	4
Darkness	4
Complexity	4
Emotional weight	6

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Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres: drama, thriller
Directed by: Thomas Gilou
Written by: Jean Cosmos, Massoud Hattou, Thomas Gilou
Starring: Gérard Depardieu, Nathalie Baye, Mathieu Amalric, Samy Seghir, Catherine Hiegel, Philippe Nahon, Bernard Yerlès, Gérald Laroche
Music: Alexandre Desplat
Cinematography: Robert Alazraki
Runtime: 124 min
Country: France
Languages: Arabic, French

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Michou d'Auber

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