This French TV movie has been issued now on DVD with a big photo of Audrey Tautou on the cover, looking at us with her big brown eyes. It is intended for sale to those intrigued by that strange, talented, and brilliant actress. In this film, Audrey has only a supporting role, but it is immediately obvious that she has extraordinary talent. She plays a girl who is deeply psychologically disturbed, indeed mad, in a kind of hysterical way. She makes a well-rounded character out of this sketchy minor role. This part is a direct forerunner of her truly spectacular performance as an insane girl in 'He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not' (2002, original title 'A la Folie ... pas du Tout') three years later. One can see the direct progression, and why she was the obvious choice. This film itself is a diverting enough detective tale, a kind of French TV Inspector Morse episode, nothing to write home about, but a mystery nonetheless. The script and direction are rather mediocre. The Aristotelian unities are shattered fairly early on, when the illusion of a detective investigation and a pursuit for the criminal is interrupted by suddenly cutting to scenes with the bad guys frankly discussing their position. Not much suspense is left after that, and it is a fundamental mistake to break the spell of a thriller in such an amateurish fashion. However, the story still ambles on towards further revelations, on the basis of 'just how bad was all of this and how many are involved', and will they and indeed can they ever be brought to justice. This story plays to the underlying fear which haunts the French psyche about the widespread and apparently uncontrollable corruption and abuses of power by French officials at all levels. We all know about Mitterand and Chirac: well they were at the top, so think about all the layers further down. These aspects of life in France are in the background of so many French films, the best such perhaps being the amazing 'Tell No One' ('Ne le Dis a Personne', 2006). Any French film maker who wants to get his home audience into a state of high anxiety only has to have a background of official corruption in his story, and the viewers are all apprehensively glued to the screen like limpets. This is one of those. But the reason to see this film is to watch Audrey doing her stuff before we ever heard of her.
4 Reviews
Placid provincial mystery
gridoon20243 May 2015
Warning: Spoilers
The only reason anyone would be interested in watching "Baby Blues" today would probably be the chance to see an early performance by a pre-stardom Audrey Tautou; she has a small but pivotal role, which she carries off well enough, though her young clean-cut cuteness is no match for Laura Del Sol's fiery, mature sensuality. The film itself has a placid pace, which reminded me of some later French Agatha Christie adaptations. The resolution is none too shocking, though I did appreciate the minor twists involving the body in the refrigerator and the dead pigeons. It's not a bad film, but there is nothing about it to make it special or memorable, either. It's something you watch once, file under "watched films", and move on. ** out of 4.
A Little French Who-Done-It with Twists and Spice
gradyharp1 May 2007
'Le Boiteux: Baby Blues' is a sassy little French mystery made for French television in 1999 and is just now showing up on the shelves of local DVD rental stores. It is a fun little diversion with lots of French flavor and has a cast that is not only secure but plays this little tale with a sense of flair and tongue-in-cheek charm.
We meet Lieutenant Deveure (Vincent Winterhalter) in the black and white backgrounds during the opening credits, watching him chase a criminal only to be shot in the ankle, an injury that leaves him crippled for life, requiring a leg brace and funky shoe and a limp. After the credits the blue-eyed lieutenant and his partner Granier (the always superb François Berléand) are investigating the discovery of a baby skeleton buried in the basement of an old home in the little town of Saint-Paray. Living in the curious house is a newly married couple Blandine (Audrey Tautou) and Patrick (Frédéric Gorny) Piancet, strange little people who initiate some of the twists the lieutenant must face in solving the mystery of the buried skeleton. Multiple characters are tangentially involved with the house - former owners and renters and contractors - each with sufficient reason to be implicated. Odd events eliminate some suspects and Deveure and Granier ultimately uncover a ring of criminal history that sets the little town on edge: all is not what it seems, even in the provincial villages! The manner of telling the story as directed by Paule Zajderman, who also wrote the screenplay based on Pascale Basset-Chercot's novel, is what brings the enchantment to the film. The cast is very strong (this is an early film for Tautou) and aside from Tautou and Berléand few of the actors are recognized outside of France. But for a mystery 'Blue Eyes' still bubbles like champagne! Grady Harp
We meet Lieutenant Deveure (Vincent Winterhalter) in the black and white backgrounds during the opening credits, watching him chase a criminal only to be shot in the ankle, an injury that leaves him crippled for life, requiring a leg brace and funky shoe and a limp. After the credits the blue-eyed lieutenant and his partner Granier (the always superb François Berléand) are investigating the discovery of a baby skeleton buried in the basement of an old home in the little town of Saint-Paray. Living in the curious house is a newly married couple Blandine (Audrey Tautou) and Patrick (Frédéric Gorny) Piancet, strange little people who initiate some of the twists the lieutenant must face in solving the mystery of the buried skeleton. Multiple characters are tangentially involved with the house - former owners and renters and contractors - each with sufficient reason to be implicated. Odd events eliminate some suspects and Deveure and Granier ultimately uncover a ring of criminal history that sets the little town on edge: all is not what it seems, even in the provincial villages! The manner of telling the story as directed by Paule Zajderman, who also wrote the screenplay based on Pascale Basset-Chercot's novel, is what brings the enchantment to the film. The cast is very strong (this is an early film for Tautou) and aside from Tautou and Berléand few of the actors are recognized outside of France. But for a mystery 'Blue Eyes' still bubbles like champagne! Grady Harp
Better than I expected considering its pedigree.
planktonrules8 September 2011
"Le Boiteux: Baby Blues" was a made for TV movie and I assume that if it didn't feature Audrey Tautou then it probably would have never come to DVD--at least here in the US. However, due to the success of Tautou's subsequent films (especially "Amélie"), this film done earlier in her career was a hot commodity--therefore it's available to a much larger audience. So was it worth it or is this just another cheap TV movie? Read on and find out for yourself.
The film begins with workmen in a home discovering the skeleton of a baby buried under the basement floor. How long it's has been there is uncertain but it's certainly been several years or much, much longer. The couple living there (the wife is Tautou) are not serious suspects because they've only lived there a few months. So whose baby is it and how did it get there?! And, even if it isn't Tautou's, something weird is going on with her--really, really weird. I could say more, but think it might reveal too much of the plot.
Overall, the film looks like a made for TV movie (but with sex--something you don't see that explicitly on American TV--at least not on regular stations). This isn't an insult--just a comment about the way the film footage appears and the budget. I did appreciate how the forensics were realistic--something you too rarely see on popular American TV shows (which are more like sci-fi when it comes to the amazing things they can do). And, I also liked the story--it had a lot of unique story elements and kept me guessing. So, although it was not originally envisioned as a film to be released here in the States, I am glad they did--it's a good, gritty yet realistic cop story and well worth seeing.
The film begins with workmen in a home discovering the skeleton of a baby buried under the basement floor. How long it's has been there is uncertain but it's certainly been several years or much, much longer. The couple living there (the wife is Tautou) are not serious suspects because they've only lived there a few months. So whose baby is it and how did it get there?! And, even if it isn't Tautou's, something weird is going on with her--really, really weird. I could say more, but think it might reveal too much of the plot.
Overall, the film looks like a made for TV movie (but with sex--something you don't see that explicitly on American TV--at least not on regular stations). This isn't an insult--just a comment about the way the film footage appears and the budget. I did appreciate how the forensics were realistic--something you too rarely see on popular American TV shows (which are more like sci-fi when it comes to the amazing things they can do). And, I also liked the story--it had a lot of unique story elements and kept me guessing. So, although it was not originally envisioned as a film to be released here in the States, I am glad they did--it's a good, gritty yet realistic cop story and well worth seeing.
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