The Well Digger’s Daughter

Starring Daniel Auteuil, Kad Merad, Sabine Azéma, directed by Daniel Auteuil

Set around WWII, Patricia begins a short relationship with the son of a wealthy family. He soon disappears to war and she discovers that she’s pregnant causing a crisis amongst the girl’s proud and overprotective father and the boy’s wealthy parents.

This looked like a great movie from the outset and Daniel Auteuil as both director and main actor should have provided great results, but it didn’t work for me, despite it getting 100{c8c3b3d140ed11cb7662417ff7b2dc686ffa9c2daf0848ac14f76e68f36d0c20} ratings from the world’s press. It wasn’t by any means unwatchable, more a missed chance. Maybe Mr Auteuil was just too close to the project, being director, actor and writer, but I felt there was just too much preposition and no real surprises. Could this be the reason its critical reviews were so generous; the simplicity? Well if so, it’ll go down well with most of the public – especially as it’s packed with an innocent desire portrayed well by Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, but it didn’t rock my boat.

Verdict: Innocent and charming, but a missed chance for my tastes. I expect to be challenged by the Harbour Club’s audience, though! ***

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