Gérard Depardieu plays a simple man — a man who is supposed to be something of a simpleton — who encounters an old lady (sounds so much better in Spanish, una anciana, or someone in her third life stage) on a park bench. They bond over the pigeons he names for her. She reads to him from Camus's The Plague.
Ebert had it this way:
Germain believes he cannot read. Actually, we discover later, he was
taught to read but never taught to have a shred of self-confidence. She
begins to read to him — The Plague by Camus — and he is an ideal listener. With her as his catalyst, he makes slow steps toward self-esteem.
Through flashbacks, his lack of self-esteem is explained. At the root of it, lies his mother. The films has all the elements of a good work, but never quite sparkles. Ebert gave it three stars. I give it two. I found it quite similar to Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont, which I liked much better.
Mediocre.
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