In Limoilou, in the 1980s, a dreamy little girl befriends her new neighbor, a grumpy widower with a tender heart.
Hélène (Juliette Bharucha), who prefers to be called Jo, and Roger (Gildor Roy), who swears at both words, have little in common. The first imagines herself as the heroine of The little one musketeer (bluffing pastiche ofanime Japanese directed by Du coup animation), the second has both feet on the ground, like Jeanne (Gabrielle B. Thuot), Jo’s lucid older sister.
While the 10-year-old girl dreams of helping her father (Vincent-Guillaume Otis) be happy, the gruff widower with a big heart watches over her. Little by little, the two will become friends like the young Manolin and the fisherman Santiago in The old man and the seaby Hemingway, Jo’s father’s favorite novel which will transform the existence of the little girl and that of Roger.
Adaptation of the novel by Marie-Renée Lavoie, The little one and the old man has lost nothing of the picturesque charm of the working-class neighborhood that it depicts, nor of the moving improbable friendship that it tells, nor of the funny lines that Jo and Roger exchange. While Patrice Sauvé (Cheech, It smells like a cut) follows its heroine in this world teeming with life, where we come across those left behind, the filmmaker’s gaze, supported by François Gamache in photography, is tender, never nostalgic or miserabilist.
In order to bring the unique charm of Quebec to the screen, the director filmed in the streets of Limoilou and surrounding neighborhoods, including Saint-Jean-Baptiste, known for its breathtaking coastlines. In addition to judiciously using the voiceover, he switches to Jo’s imaginary universe, which is transported to the green countryside, then to the hot sun of Havana, without creating a break in tone with the complicity of the editor Claude Palardy.
Added to this is the meticulous period reconstruction by Marie-Pier Fortier and the enveloping music of Viviane Audet, Robin Joël Cool and Alexis Martin. Masterfully directed, each actor plays his part accurately. Between newcomer Juliette Bharucha, who shows great confidence, and veteran Gildor Roy, tailor-made for the role, the bond is more than palpable.
By setting out to transpose the colorful and lively universe of The little one and the old manSébastien Girard certainly had to sacrifice certain passages and neglect some characters. Thus, the mother (Marilyn Castonguay) is more in the background than in the novel, as is the peddler Fred (Denis Houle) and the young bingo waitress Cinthia (Elia Saint-Pierre, who also lends her voice to the little musketeer) . Readers can be reassured, the screenwriter has preserved the essence of the novel, all the humanity that emerges from it. Although more compressed in time and losing some of its vigor in the last quarter, this coming-of-age story slides gently from childhood to adolescence as it celebrates the power of the imagination.
In the room
Drama comedy
The little one and the old man
Patrice Sauvé
Juliette Bharucha, Gildor Roy, Vincent Guillaume-Otis
1:45 a.m.