It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

If a note zero could be given to a comedy, this movie would deserve it. The story just tries to find any opposite view to present childhood stories and glues on top of it whatever humor it can find. The disconnect is so large that humor falls flat and makes me the spectator feel embarrassed for watching all this stupidity. There are two things which bother me further. Jean-Claude Sussfeld, in an interview, claims he has worked 15 years as director's assistant in other movies and now feels good to manage it himself. Definitely above his capabilities. Further, an impressive panel of actors flow through the movie. Mostly all of them come out flat and far of being funny. And here again one has to severely criticize Sussfeld for his total lack of cinematographic sense. Actors such as Clavier and Lhermitte have exploded in pearls such as "Les Bronzés" and "Papy fait de le résistance". Sad sad for these actors and for the French Cinema.