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Movies / On DVD / Blame it on Fidel
Blame it on Fidel

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Blame it on Fidel (2006)

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Reviews Counted:12

Fresh:11

Rotten:1

Average Rating:7.8/10

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.

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

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... 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 Anna, a feisty Parisian girl forced to assimilate cataclysmic changes when her parents decide to devote themselves full time to radical activism. It is 1970-71, and Anna's father is fighting to redistribute wealth in Chile, while her mother doggedly researches a book on women's abortion ordeals. Meanwhile, Anna, kicking and screaming, must adjust to refugee nannies with strange cooking habits, a cramped apartment filled with noisy, scruffy revolutionaries, and the humiliation of no longer being allowed to attend her beloved catechism class. The fun of Blame It on Fidel is watching Anna (eloquently portrayed by Nina Kervel) valiantly sort through the dizzying array of contradictory ideologies flying at her--from communism to Greek mythology, from Vietnamese folktales and women's rights to Catholic morality. The film's emotional power arises from Anna's transformation from close-minded bourgeois princess to open-hearted truth seeker and her gradual internalization of what her parents, albeit clumsily, are trying to accomplish. Seamless and energetic, Blame It on Fidel features substantive, yet buoyant, performances by Julie Depardieu and Stefano Accorsi, as well as a hilarious turn by Benjamin Feuillet as the little brother who unwittingly teaches Anna a thing or two. -- Sundance Film Festival [More]

Starring: Julie Depardieu, Stefano Accorsi, Nina Kervel, Benjamin Feuillet

Starring: Julie Depardieu, Stefano Accorsi, Nina Kervel, Benjamin Feuillet

Director: Julie Gavras

Director: Julie Gavras
Screenwriter: Julie Gavras, Arnaud Cathrine
Producer: Sylvie Pialat
Composer: Armand Amar
Studio: Koch Lorber Films

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Release:

Nov 6, 2007

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Reviews for Blame it on Fidel

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The young heroine is rather humorless, but Gavras's intelligence and skillful touch are evident throughout.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
12/04/07
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
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The film contains a surprising amount of understated humor.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
09/28/07
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
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It's all too easy to read Blame It On Fidel as a simple morality tale, an allegory comparing conservatism to childishness, and political awakening to emotional maturity.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
09/27/07
Tasha Robinson
Tasha Robinson
Chicago Tribune
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Politics -- hardly a movie audience's immediate choice when it comes to entertainment -- becomes a deeply engaging subject in Blame It on Fidel thanks to a 9-year-old charmer who steals our hearts.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
09/27/07
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
09/14/07
Carina Chocano
Carina Chocano
Los Angeles Times
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What is it about little girls and Franco that brings out the best in filmmakers?

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
08/17/07
Wesley Morris
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe
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Julie Gavras, offspring of famed Greek-born filmmaker Constantin Costa-Gavras, makes an assured feature-directing debut with Blame It on Fidel.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
08/03/07
V.A. Musetto
V.A. Musetto
New York Post
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Julie 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.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
08/03/07
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden
New York Times
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A wrenching, funny and wise little picture, with a diva-like junior star at its center.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
08/02/07
Andrew O'Hehir
Andrew O'Hehir
Salon.com
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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.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
07/31/07
Aaron Hillis
Aaron Hillis
Village Voice
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A lively, perceptive and historically intriguing coming-of-age story.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
01/31/07
Michael Rechtshaffen
Michael Rechtshaffen
Hollywood Reporter
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Wonderfully engaging.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
01/20/07
Lisa Nesselson
Lisa Nesselson
Variety
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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. Opens in new window
More...

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. Opens in new window
More...

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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