Every day, AlloCiné recommends a film to (re)watch on TV. Tonight: a nice dive into Marcel Pagnol’s childhood.
In 1957, Marcel Pagnol moved away from cinema and theater to devote himself to writing Memories of Childhood, a series of four autobiographical novels: The Glory of my Father, My mother’s castle, The Time of Secrets et The time of love.
It is precisely this third volume that we are talking about today. And for good reason, the latter was recently adapted for the cinema by the filmmaker Christophe Barratier (to whom we owe The Chorists, The New War of the Buttons, The Outsider, etc.)
Released in theaters in 2022, this family film takes place in July 1905, in Marseille, during the youth of Marcel Pagnol. At that time, little Marcel, ten years old, spent his summer vacation in the hills of Aubagne and Allauch. There he finds nature, the great outdoors and above all his friend Lili, always ready to share new adventures.
In the cast of the film Le Temps des secrets, we find actors well known to the public, such as Guillaume De Tonquédec, Mélanie Doutey and François-Xavier Demaison, but also Anne Charier, Michel Vuillermoz and Olivia Côte.
A tender, faithful and sunny adaptation
And the least we can say is that fans of Marcel Pagnol were immediately seduced by this feature film with a summer atmosphere. It must be said that it pays a very beautiful tribute to the playwright, writer, filmmaker and producer, and more particularly to his carefree and rural childhood.
Nicolas Pagnol, grandson and beneficiary of the French author, even confided about this adaptation: “Who better than Christophe Barratierafter the success of Backing singerscould succeed in highlighting Marcel’s childhood and the poetry of this Provence?”
And to add: “The Pagnol family is very happy with this collaboration which once again puts Marcel Pagnol in the spotlight.”
And the spectators are also under the spell of this family film. In addition to giving it a rating of 3.5 out of 5, AlloCiné Internet users also shared their positive opinions.
And among the most flattering comments, we can read: “Careful and enchanting cinema!”, “A real bubble of happiness”or “A sublime adaptation of the work of Marcel Pagnol on childhood and first loves.
Tonight on France 3 at 9:05 p.m.
