aspirations, this girl named Anna, comically mixes up politics, not having any understanding and seeing things very black and white. At one point it all becomes Fidel's fault, when her nanny from Spain tells her the man is no good and the family, living in a very nice and luxurious home, leaves for the city and moves into what in comparison to their old home is a very small appartment. The film is full of these political little jokes, which is why altogether La Faute À Fidel! is definitely a film for adults, even though it sometimes seems a children's film. One of the reasons you might think it's a children's film is because of the films main protagonist, which is a little girl trying to cope with change and being reluctant to difference. But the jokes are for the adults, making it less a family film. The joy mostly is also seeing this child adapt to a new environment and sticking her nose into things she shouldn't be sticking her nose into, which as a spectator you connect to your own childhood memories, using this girl as a mirror for the ways you as a child took notice of the world around you and being sometimes spoiled and unkind to your parents who in the end always knew what was best for you. Played by Nina Kervel-Bey, little Anna is portrayed as a girl with a very strong opinion who doesn't take things for granted and is filled with curiosity. The look in her eyes tells it all. Sometimes those eyes seem to be able to set you on fire when staring too long into them. Kervel-Bey plays her role extremely well, being firm and fearless, giving way to a spoiled brat, but one who will steal your heart as well, being many times the mere victim of confusion and not being able to understand the world her parents start to build around her. Someone who doesn't understand a thing, even more than Anna does, is her little brother François. He however just takes it all in, easily adapting to his new nanny, while Anna keeps struggling, not wanting to like the new people she is set up with and wishing things could be back to how they used to be. La Faute À Fidel! as a whole feels very much like Goodbye Lenin! in the way it looks and the easy way it tells a story, which sometimes feels to consists more of nice fragments than a complete whole. With a not that long 99 minutes, La Faute À Fidel!, however seemed to take much longer, which isn't particularly a bad thing, but sometimes the film seems to miss a bit of clear focus. There's no real goal which the film works its way to. It just shows a young girl who is forced to change her life and eventually learns to deal with this change, even though she was hesitant at first. The film does try to become a bit climatic, with Anna and her brother at one point walking away to the library when their parents end up in a heated discussion. Still, though, La Faute À Fidel! is a very entertaining film, one which will probably spark more interest in women than men, even though a male audience will probably enjoy it very much as well. But with a girl at its center, it does seems likely to appeal more to a female audience.What Is It About?
Anna de la Mesa, a young girl living a very luxurious life and who has everything she wants, one day finds herself moving to a tiny appartment, her life being put upside down. Caused by her parents new found interest in politics Anna all of a sudden has to give up her
comfortable life and all the things she had gotten used to. Together with her little brother she has to deal with all these changes while life carries on. With her parents now being communist, her father travelling to South America, bearded men around the kitchen smoking and talking, and her mother interviewing women to write a book about abortion, it seems life for Anna will never be the same. Trying hard to adapt to her new household she starts wishing her parents had never made her leave and wants to return to their big mansion in the countryside. Visiting her grandparents she starts complaining about the new house and her new nanny, still not willing to except her new life.Final Verdict: ****
Like I mentioned La Faute À Fidel! does become a bit long, or at least it feels to be longer than two hours, even though it's not. At this point it really is Kervel-Bey's energetic performance which saves the film. Overall La Faute À Fidel! is nice, but does feels a bit distant at times. The film itself is not that extraordinary or special in any way. It's just very well carried
out and happens to take all the right steps to guide it towards a succesful finish. Therefore it can be said that it does miss a bit of freshness and leans a bit too much towards the simple and predictable side. But director Julie Gavras indeed has made a very solid and fun film with a central character to remember. La Faute À Fidel! is not one of those must-see films, but definitely one which will satisfy and could become a favourite of some people because of it's high cuteness factor and it's charismatic little lead actress.
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