Little Nicholas

Laurent Tirard's 2009 film follows a primary school boy who thinks his parents are expecting another child. He is afraid of being abandoned. He makes a plan with his friends. The film takes the logic of children seriously; the narrative keeps the adult world always at the edge of the frame. It is adapted from a well-known series of stories and comics. It was widely seen in France. The design looks back to the nineteen-fifties. Who it's for: those who like family comedy. Who it's not for: viewers expecting sharp humour; the jokes are gentle and pitched at children, and some of them rest on French school culture.