I do not try to persuade friends, family, lovers that this is an exceptional movie. I let them watch it and if they emotionally and intellectually respond to the movie, then they have entered my intimate world.

If you were to pause the movie during Pelo and Louis' fishing trip when they meet Froggy Mary, it would be a photograph that captures stunning, rural beauty. The slow deliberate piano corresponds ravishingly with the setting. This nervous, cautious city boy is deposited in the home of Marcel and Pelo and their battle of wills. The magnificent tree allows the city boy and the worldly but rural Martine to eavesdrop and categorize the world around them. There is such subtle commentary in the movie like the doctor driving to the death in the peugot and the priest following on the bicycle. Science trumps religion in France. And this is combined with perfect acting by the four main actors.

Why do I like this movie so much? Is it because it captures the fears and escapism of childhood? Or is it an appeal to my leanings of Jeffersonian romanticism? Is it because the power of being yourself can make a positive difference in people's lives? Yes to all. I will always carry this movie with me as it has deepened me. I no longer worry about what could have happened and am now grateful for what has happened.

I remember of "Le grand Chemin", as if i were there in this movie as in my own life in a different period. As if little things of life which can be worthless for grow up can be very important to children, for lifetime . I remember Vanessa Guedj who i miss and who i do not see anymore actually. I remember of this atmosphere where untold stories are more painful than the words. I remember the childhood universe that we are building to "go away", i remember that a whole lifetime does not matter, that everything is done and that the bad part of it can finally be the good part of life. (sorry for my English). is n't this any lines ? Now it's OK so...

A really superior film, this story of a 9 year-old boy leaving his mother temporarily to live in a small French town. He becomes educated to the ways of adults with the help of a worldy-wise girl aged 10. Although children are featured, this definitely is an adult movie, not one for small children.