Le café du pont (2010) watch online HD

If you want to see a film about how an ordinary French family used to live in the 1940s, "Le Café du Pont" is a film for you. Rarely indeed has a movie been more accurate in this field than Manuel Poirier's last opus. The director has indeed taken great care to recreate the period described (1944-1946) with attention to the slightest details: clothes, interior decoration, cars , dinner things, tools, ...everything looks true. And not only the objects but the period behaviors are wonderfully captured : the regulars of the café, the priest, the farmers, the grandmother (who urinates in nature and expresses the pleasure of relief in local dialect!) are not played by stars or even well-known supporting actors but by unknown (albeit excellent) performers who do not play but ARE ordinary French people of that time : people who were hardworking but heavy drinkers, who could be witty but occasionally violent, people who were big mouths and/or affectionate friends, parents or kids.

Of course, if you are a fan of testosterone/explosion/car chase-filled movies, this one is not for you. Manuel Poirier takes his time and the pace is leisurely. This is a chronicle, not an epic saga. But even everyday life has its tensions (the nervous German soldiers; the sadistic school master, the mother's illness). Nevertheless, it is the pleasure to be alive that the director, a bit like Auguste Renoir and his son Jean did , celebrates: angling, picnicking, dipping one's bread into Mummy's delicious cassoulet, picking mushrooms with Granny, being in harmony with others, are small things happiness is made of. With a pointillist's art Manuel Poirier, involves the viewer step by step, vignette after vignette, making us fonder and fonder of the enterprising father, the stalwart mother and the two boys, Pierrot and Jeannot.

And what adds value to this fine film is that, finally, it does not really tell the story of just another little boy. Little Pierrot is actually Pierre Perret, the future singing star of the 1960s and the 1970s, the one that made us laugh with his hilarious comic songs ("Le tord boyaux", "Les jolies colonies de vacances","Les postières"), brought us to tears with such tenderly poetic songs as "Blanche" or "Mon P'tit Loup", awakened our consciousness to issues like rape ("Mon p'tit loup"), racism ("Lily") or the North-South relationship ("Riz pilé"). No explicit indication about what Pierrot will become is given in the film. For the time being, he is a kid like many others, but what is amusing for the viewer who is in the know is to find elements in Perrot's youth which contain the seeds of the the Pierre Perret to be: joking customers of his parent's café who will inspire his own flashes of wit, the instrument he learns to play and the musician he becomes at his father's ballroom, the transmission of tenderness by loving parents, etc.

A breath of fresh air in the heat of a hot Summer, "Le Café du Pont" is a must-see, all the more because Bernard Campan brings welcome restraint and dignity to the role of the father. Little-known Cécile Rebboah is on par as the energetic mother. The rest of the cast is excellent too. Among a majority of unknown actors, two Manuel Poirier regulars, Sacha Bourdo as a Polish fugitive, and Sergi Lopez as a mole catcher, make a guest appearance.

Nothing much happens in this story, and yet, in its own way, the lives of the Perrets in the small town of Tarn-et-Garonne, France, come alive in this reflective tale about a family and the cafe they ran. The story begins as the German invasion is taking over the country. Meurice and Claudia Perret must endure the intrusion of the brutal forces into their midst.

There is a glimpse at the children is school. Pierrot, the oldest son is made the butt of the ridicule by an obnoxious teacher whose ways of teaching included physical harm to the boy who dared not to come with the right answers for him. Claudia, the mother, could not condone the teacher's methods, confronting him face to face in order for the man to leave her son alone.

After the Nazi armies departed France in defeat, the family prospered in the cafe. Meurice decided fix the place with a space for balls that were held from time to time with guest orchestras. The whole town came alive with the dances at the cafe. At the same time, Claudia's health kept deteriorating. Meurice came to the decision to sell his beloved cafe and start a new business which allowed Claudia to get the much needed rest she needed.

"The Cafe du Pont" is based on a novel by Pierre Perret, the Pierrot of the story. As directed by Manuel Poirier, the film is a celebration of family life. This is a beautiful story about a family living in harmony and peace, the way it was meant to be. Meurice and Claudia were parents with love to spare for their children that oozed to their regular customers that patronized their cafe. It is a celebration of love, pure and simple.

Bernard Campan and Cecilia Rebboah are perfect as the kind Meurice and Claudia. The supporting players enhance the enjoyment of the film because they give understated performances backing up the principals. Sergi Lopez has a cameo in the film. Bernardo Sandoval provided the music score in the background and Sergio Dell'Amico photographed the rural setting lovingly.

No need for spoiler alerts here because... nothing happens! This film is devoid of dramatic tension. Scene after scene rolls gently by, and after each scene you ask yourself "What happened? Why am I watching this?" The small town and its café are picturesque, the era is re-created well, and the lensing is nice, so a couple of stars for that. The amateur actors tried their best, but they were poorly directed. You can see people thinking about what they're supposed to say next, then pausing because they've been told to pause, then delivering their lame line. Some exchanges appear to have been improvised and this does not work. If this is an accurate portrayal of the life of Pierre Perret, the poor bloke must have had an incredibly dull childhood. Perhaps if you're a complete francophile who adores anything just because it's French, you might enjoy this. Otherwise, keep well away.