Petites vacances, Les (2006)

Director:

Olivier Peyon

Writers:

Cyril Brody (writer)
Gladys Marciano (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

24 January 2007 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Plot:

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Bernadette Lafont	...	Danièle
Adèle Csech	...	Marine
Lucas Franchi	...	Thomas
Claude Brasseur	...	L'inconnu du palace
Claire Nadeau	...	Nicole
Eric Savin	...	Eric
Benjamin Rolland	...	Stéphane
Jocelyne Desverchère	...	La jeune mariée
Béatrice Chéramy	...	Dominique
Mireille Roussel	...	Véronique
Pierre Pradinas	...	Le gendarme
Jérémy Stone	...	Romain

Directed by
Olivier Peyon

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Cyril Brody		writer
Gladys Marciano		writer
Olivier Peyon		writer

Produced by
Gérard Lacroix	....	producer
Gérard Pont	....	producer
Edgard Tenenbaum	....	producer (as Edgard Tenembaum)

Original Music by
Jérôme Baur

Cinematography by
Alexis Kavyrchine

Film Editing by
Fabrice Rouaud

Casting by
Christelle Baras

Production Design by
Mathieu Menut

Art Direction by
S. Louis

Production Management
Gisèle Bertolino	....	unit production manager
Marianne Germain	....	production manager
Arnaud Kaiser	....	assistant unit manager
David Libralesso	....	assistant unit manager
Delphine Rister	....	assistant unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Romain Baudin	....	first assistant director
Amandine Escoffier	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Sophie Couderc	....	property master

Sound Department
Xavier Griette	....	sound
Jonathan Liebling	....	foley artist
Marion Lorthioir	....	post-synchronisation

Stunts
Gérard Kuhnl	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Renaud Garnier	....	electrician
Colas Jourdain	....	electrician

Other crew
S. Louis	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Tu Vas Voir Productions (executive production)
• Morgane Productions (co-production) (as Morgane)
• Rhône-Alpes Cinéma (co-production)
• Canal+ (participation)
• Ciné Cinémas (participation)
• Centre Européen Cinématographique Rhône-Alpes (participation)
• Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC) (with the support of)
• Procirep (with the support of)

Distributors

• Dogwoof Pictures (2007) (UK) (all media)
• Pierre Grise Distribution (2007) (France) (theatrical)

Also Known As:

Stolen Holidays (International: English title)

Runtime:

France:90 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Company:

Tu Vas Voir Productions

A very good , very accomplished film!

This one reminds me a little of Lauren Cantet's Time Out. Like that film, it features a main character who has cast themselves adrift from the rules of society. We are absorbed in a suspenseful vigil, awaiting the catastrophe their wandering souls are likely to encounter.

The premise of Stolen Holidays is simple, credible, and compelling: a doting grandmother decides to take her grandchildren on an extended holiday without permission or consent from their parents. As their illicit holiday extends further and further, the grandmother must evade the increasingly urgent efforts of the parents to get their children back.

Bernadette Lafont is excellent as the enigmatic grandmother. Her reasons for the escapade are never made entirely clear, but we sense the vacuum left in her life from retiring as a schoolteacher, and we readily understand her hunger for more exciting prospects.

Also excellent is Adele Csech as the older granddaughter Marine. She subtly portrays the young woman's alternate delight and annoyance at her grandmother's guardianship, and then her slowly dawning realization that something is seriously wrong.

The photography in this movie is excellent, treating us to views of some gorgeous vacation spots. But it is also extremely adept at implying the darker themes of the story, beginning with the evocative shots of the characters driving behind a lumber-carrying truck. One particularly astonishing shot reveals the grandmother sitting on the balcony at night, while the children play indoors behind closed blinds. The children press against the blinds and call to the grandmother, their silhouettes looking strange and ghostly.

This film explores the idea of how the elderly feed upon the exuberance of the young, hoping to enliven their own lives. A very fine, universal, beautiful film!