''Monsieur Batignole'' is a French film released in 2002. The film was directed by

Gérard Jugnot Gérard Jugnot (; born 4 May 1951) is a French actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer. Jugnot was one of the founders of the comedy ''troupe'' Le Splendid in the 1970s, along with, among others, his high-school friends Christian Cl ...

and featured

, Jules Sitruk,

Jean-Paul Rouve Jean-Paul Rouve (born 26 January 1967) is a French actor, film director, screenwriter and producer. He is a member of the troupe "Les Robins des Bois". He has appeared in more than thirty film and television productions since 1993. Personal li ...

, Götz Burger, Michèle Garcia and Alexia Portal in lead roles. The film depicts the story of an ordinary grocer, Edmond Batignole, who helps the young son of his Jewish neighbour, and the boy's two cousins, to reach

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

safely.

Plot

In 1942, in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, which was under

German occupation German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, a grocer Edmond Batignole (

) is living with his family on the ground floor of an apartment building. He has a daughter who is soon to be married. His future son-in-law, an aspiring writer Pierre-Jean (

) wants the penthouse apartment occupied by a Jewish family, the Bernsteins, and alerts the Gestapo who capture the family early one morning. When the Bernsteins' property is confiscated, the Batignoles apply for and are awarded the apartment. The Batignoles cater a party for SS officials in the confiscated apartment. During the party, young Simon Bernstein ( Jules Sitruk) returns to his family home. Batignole hides Simon in a servant's apartment on the top floor of the building but soon moves him to the cellar to avoid discovery. Simon is later joined in the cellar by his two cousins who were themselves being hidden by the concierge of another Parisian apartment building. Edmond tries to find someone to smuggle the children over the border to

but eventually determines to take them himself. Edmond and the children undertake the dangerous trip to the Swiss border, where they are nearly caught by the police. However, with the help of a kind woman and a priest, they are able to sneak over the border to safety in Switzerland.

Cast

* Jules Sitruk - Simon Bernstein *

Michèle Garcia Michele (), is an Italian male given name, akin to the English male name Michael. Michele (pronounced ), is also an English female given name that is derived from the French Michèle. It is a variant spelling of the more common (and identicall ...

- Marguerite Batignole *

- Edmond Batignole *

- Pierre-Jean Lamour * Alexia Portal - Micheline Batignole *

Arthur Jugnot Arthur Jugnot (born 2 December 1980) is a French actor and stage director. Personal life He is the son of Gérard Jugnot Gérard Jugnot (; born 4 May 1951) is a French actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer. Jugnot was one of ...

- Arthur *

Jean-Marie Winling Jean-Marie Winling (born 1947) is a French actor. He has appeared in more than a hundred films since 1972. Filmography Theater External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Winling, Jean-Marie 1947 births Living people People from Sète French ma ...

Sacha Guitry Alexandre-Pierre Georges "Sacha" Guitry (; 21 February 188524 July 1957) was a French stage actor, film actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright of the boulevard theatre. He was the son of a leading French actor, Lucien Guitry, and follow ...

Marie-Hélène Lentini Marie-Hélène Lentini is a French actress and comedian. Theater Filmography References External links * French film actresses Living people 21st-century French actresses Actresses from Paris 20th-century French actresses Fren ...

- Madame Taillepied * Violette Blanckaert - Sarah Cohen * Daphné Baiwir - Guila Cohen * Götz Burger - SS Col. Spreich

Reception

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' critic Lisa Nesselson wrote that the director "has fashioned a fine package, ready to travel". The film was a box office success in France. The 2002 French Academy of Cinema Best Young Actor award was won by Jean-Paul Rouve in this film. The film was shown at VCU French Film Festival,

Cleveland International Film Festival The Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) is an annual film festival based in Cleveland, Ohio. It is the largest film festival in Ohio. It was first held in 1977, showing eight films over a period of eight weeks at the Cedar Lee Theatre. It ...

French Film Festival The French Film Festival - Richmond, VA is an annual film festival held in Richmond, Virginia, focused on recently produced French-language films. It was created in 1993 by Drs. Peter and Françoise Kirkpatrick, professors of French literature, ...

Bergen International Film Festival The Bergen International Film Festival (BIFF) is a film festival held annually in October in Bergen, Norway since 2000, and is the largest film festival in the nation in number of films. The festival celebrated its 20th edition in 2019, featuring ...

where it once again received huge critical acclaim.

References

External links

* * * * {{Rotten Tomatoes , monsieur_batignole French war drama films 2002 films French World War II films Films about Jews and Judaism Rescue of Jews during the Holocaust Holocaust films Films set in the 1940s Films shot in France Films directed by Gérard Jugnot