Les Malheurs de Sophie (2016)
Directed by Christophe Honoré

Film Review

Christophe Honoré's career as a director and screenwriter continues to confound his admirers and detractors alike and takes a frankly bizarre turn with his latest big screen offering, a wildly ebullient adaptation of the classic children's novel Les Malheurs de Sophie by the Countess of Ségur and its sequel Les Petites filles modèles, first published in 1858.  Coming straight after Honoré's equally improbable adaptation of Ovid's Metamorphoses this latest whimsical diversion from a string of generally well-received adult auteur pieces can only add to the impression that Honoré is not a man who is prepared to sit around and be pigeonholed.  His latest film is less of a surprise when you realise that Honoré has already made a name for himself in junior fiction, with a series of books aimed at children, some dealing with serious adult themes such as incest, AIDS and suicide.

As is apparent in practically all of his previous work - Ma mère (2004), Les Chansons d'amour (2007), Les Bien-aimés (2011) - Honoré's latest film shows an eagerness to tread new ground and experiment with both theme and form.  His Les Malheurs de Sophie is strikingly different from previous screen adaptations - notably the ones directed by Jacqueline Audry in 1946 and Jean-Claude Brialy in 1980 - in that it has a definite split identity, and you cannot be sure whether it is aimed at children or adults.  The style of the film - with its vivid use of colour, brisk sense of fun, grotesque caricatures - is exactly what you would expect for a children's entertainment.  But the dark humour and grim tone the film takes on in its second half would suggest otherwise.  Like C.S. Lewis's Narnia novels, it is a film that speaks to both children and adults, although some of the nastier shocks in store probably make it unsuitable for very young children (say, the under sevens).

On the plus side, the film is very well-cast, with five-year-old Caroline Grant proving to be a born scene stealer in the title role, looking like a cross-between a budding Dr Frankenstein and a pre-teen Amélie Poulain.  Her Sophie is an adorable angel with a slightly sinister mischievous streak, the kind who just can't resist dismembering her dolls and pets to 'see how they work'.  Anaïs Demoustier is her likeable companion in adversity against the unbelievably wicked Madame Fichini, played with obvious relish by Muriel Robin at her vile comedy best.  With the narrative time-shifted back a few years to Second Empire France, the sets and costumes are suitably flamboyant, the rich colour palette adding to the vibrant feel of the piece.

The one obvious shortcoming is the animation, which is of an exceedingly poor standard and mars the production greatly as all of the animals that Sophie gets to caress, torment and kill are clearly computer-generated and too two-dimensional for their own good.  The characters are equally two dimensional, but are played with such gusto that this is less of an issue.  The narrative is structured as a succession of short sketches which lead naturally into each other and move along at such a lick that you don't have time to get bored.  It's a shame that the pace slows down noticeably in the second half, just as the film takes on a much darker, more funereal tone.  Coming after an exuberant sunny first half, this sudden descent into gloom may be off-putting for some and gives the impression that this is actually two quite different films badly welded together.  Overall, Les Malheurs de Sophie is sufficiently eccentric and lively to make an amusing change from the norm for adults, although children between eight and ten will probably get the most value out of it - just don't let them near any household pets afterwards.

Film Synopsis

In a large country château surrounded by luxuriant gardens there lives a little girl, Sophie de Réan, whose curiosity leads her to get into all kinds of mischief with her cousin Paul.  With so many friends to play with and so many things to discover, Sophie's is the happiest of lives.  Then comes the sad day when she must say goodbye to all of her friends and undertake the long journey to America with her parents, to begin a new life in a distant land.  Disaster strikes and a year later Sophie is back in France, a solitary orphan girl.  Placed in the care of her monstrous stepmother, Madame Fichini, Sophie's life becomes miserable beyond belief.  Thankfully, she can count upon her friends and her kindly tutor Madame de Fleurville to rescue her from this hideous harridan and restore something of her former happiness...