P'tit Quinquin

...overlaid with a bumbling murder investigation, and the result is a gem of comedic filmmaking and social satire embedded in a humanistic portrayal of contemporary French peasantry. Dumont dares to portray prejudices, pettiness, and brutality of rural life without malice or ridicule. Gendarmes, Van der Weyden and Carpentier, are as funny as their counterparts, Manchin and Malfoy, were in Slack Bay, yet less the buffoons of that film than simply odd and ignorant. I grealy appreciate such honest, often tender. portrayals of common people amidst a sea of films focused on elites, bourgeouisie, and artificial characters.