One of those rare films that maintain unwavering fidelity to a child’s view of the world.
Comment
08/02/07
Blame it on Fidel (2006)
93
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:43
Fresh:40
Rotten:3
Average Rating:7.4/10
Consensus: Blame it on Fidel is a charming comedy of manners, class, and politics, elevated by a remarkable performance from lead child actor Nina Kervel.
Theatrical Release:Aug 3, 2007 Limited
Synopsis: How do our experiences shape us, and how is political consciousness formed? Blame It on Fidel uses a light, charming touch to shed light on these questions. At the film's epicenter is whip-smart... [More]
Starring: Julie Depardieu, Stefano Accorsi, Nina Kervel, Benjamin Feuillet
Director: Julie Gavras
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Reviews for Blame it on Fidel
An extraordinary French drama about the reactions of a conservative nine-year old girl to the radical politics and changes brought into her life by her parents.
08/03/07
What makes this film a real gem is Kervel's brilliant performance, personifying this stage of growing up with a perfect balance of bratishness, bright intellect, humour and innocence. She's a revelation.
10/19/07
A remarkably assured and elegant debut, Blame It on Fidel is the kind of smart, sophisticated and fiercely humanistic film that all movies should aspire to be, but seldom do.
09/14/07
Top CriticFrench director Julie Gavras neatly side-steps the cliches of 70s radicalism with her terrific debut.
10/19/07
...an adult-level film that does a great job of giving a child's view of a world in the throes of change.
07/13/07
...simply one of the best films ever from a child's point of view.
07/08/07
Illuminating, witty and touching, Blame it on Fidel is a gem just awaiting discovery.
10/19/07
Cleaving to a child’s-eye-view of a time of significant social change, documentarist-turned-feature director Julie Gavras elicits excellence from Kervel as the stubborn schoolgirl struggling to deal with the lack of certainties in her new lifestyle.
10/19/07
Ridiculously charming.
07/31/07
The film contains a surprising amount of understated humor.
09/28/07
Top CriticGavras is an experienced maker of documentaries, but this assured, intelligent film marks an auspicious beginning to her career in fictional features.
10/19/07
Blame it on Fidel! is a knowing lesson in film and history that often makes its serious point with a dose of wise humor.
10/19/07
The comedy always feels enriching rather than demeaning.
10/19/07
Gavras' film captures both the time period and the queasy inconsistencies of childhood. And in Kervel, Gavras has found a real gem.
09/14/07
Gavras's style is already as assured as her father's, and her ability to balance the audience's understanding of grown-up beliefs with that of a rapidly maturing girl is deft.
07/31/07
Top CriticJulie Gavras’s wonderful film, Blame It on Fidel, is a deeply political movie that sidesteps strident polemics by viewing the ideological conflicts within a French-Spanish family through the eyes of a smart, willful child.
08/03/07
Top CriticA deft, original, entertaining and thoughtful look at that moment when we realise the world’s just that bit more complicated than we thought.
10/19/07
A smart, amusing take on some serious issues that's fortunate in its excellent young leading lady and its ability to laugh at its own political excesses.
10/19/07
[Director] Gavras has undeniable skill as a screenwriter, suggesting that the production might have benefited from a more experienced helmer.
08/01/07
Latest News for Blame it on Fidel
November 19, 2007:
Strange, bearded house guests shake up a peeved little girl's life, infusing it with political imagination and wonder. 
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August 02, 2007:
Bourne Is Certified Fresh; Hot Rod Hits the Skids; Bratz is Grade-Z; El Cantante Hits A Flat Note
This week at the movies, we got amnesiac spies (The Bourne Ultimatum, starring Matt Damon and Julia Stiles), loser daredevils (Hot Rod, with Andy Samberg and Isla Fisher), salsa... More...
July 24, 2007:
Radiates a touching clarity that movies about children have much to learn from. Namely, the formative intelligence of a child making sense out of an often confounding adult world, and the courage and necessity of their elders to just listen.
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January 28, 2007:
Sundance Reviews: "Padre Nuestro," "Blame It On Fidel," and "Waitress" All Superb
Short reviews for three of the better films we saw at Sundance (the strongly acted Spanish language thriller "Padre Nuestro," French 1970s-set kid drama "Blame it... More...
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