Ketrivie It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Skyler Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

avital-gc-1 Julie Gavras, the director, is a power house judging by this film. She wrote the script, based on a novel by Domitilla Calamai, and directed what seems like an honest film with depth. Anna de la Mesa is a young girl, a daughter to wealthy parents and grandparents, whose parents become communists and politically active in the 70's. They move from a large house to a small flat, always full with activists, and all the princess-like reality is shattered. The girl, serious, competitive and intense resists the changes with all her might, but slowly, certain people and certain stories reach her, and she softens. Her little brother is captivating-funny, sweet and smart, and there's a brief moment where you see how she crosses the line to finally seeing him. I loved the little actress. Something else I loved-how the relationships with the parents are not embellished but appear in all their errors, rough edges and tenderness. The director is Costa Gavras's daughter, and the mother is played by Julie Depardieu-Gerard's daughter.

Tim Kidner I'm not going to pretend that I'm interested particularly in the politics of the period in question, nor the period itself, for that matter.We're talking about the '70's and communist ideals, namely supporting another country, or regime by proxy. In this case, to make up for perceived neglected family duties - the father who's Spanish, with his French wife and three young children in Paris. Meetings, with an array of strangers forever coming and going are seen through the eyes of the preciously gifted and inquisitive 9 y.o. and which propels this film.Her (Nina Kerval) questioning starts out as seeking explanations as to the family's downward change in social status, where she's picked on at school for having weird parents, who eat weird food and have strange friends. As with any precocious child, questions follow the answers, the parents often not sure of the answers themselves let alone what to tell the children, as ideals in theory are often more difficult in practice. It's this mix of naivety, self exploration and quest for human knowledge that raises this film above an ordinary one. How, we all as kids would counteract a mistake made by a parent, often by contradiction and how we'd exaggerate it enormously. It was our way of showing how smart we were and how wrong and fallible, and lovable they were by being wrong. Usually Anna (the girl) gets it wrong, in both context and intent; not hilariously so but with a knowing amusement we observe Kerval's subtle but wide range of expressions. We are indeed looking at a great actress in the making.Other than that, I found the film quite claustrophobic with the glum interiors of 70's - stale browns and oranges and mostly glum characters dressed similarly and not having a great time. It revealed little historically. Maybe parents could view it as a study as to how to juggle family needs with maintaining a political (or other) ideal and the obvious sacrifices that ultimately entails.

cimicib Wonderful movie that clears out your mind and leaves you purified when feeling so dirty. Wonderful little girl! Wonderful little boy! So amazed by how they are that I don't feel like saying more on the movie in general. Anna de la Mesa is so real. All that phases she goes through and all the complication of her mind are beautifully harmonized with the politics. It's not a story of a changing family (life); it's rather the display of a huge load on the shoulders of a little girl. It's worth it; watch it.(By the way just because I watched the two in a row; I must say that "La Faute à Fidel" is much more effective than "Persepolis" in order of viewing the world from a growing child's point-of-view. Good directing there by Julie Gavras.)

gradyharp BLAME IT ON FIDEL! ('La Faute à Fidel!) is an enlightening film from France's fine director Julie Gavras, a story based on the novel 'Tutta colpa di Fidel' by Domitilla Calamai that addresses the effect of major political, philosophical, and activist effects on children. What makes this fine film unique is the child's stance on the adult politics: what may seem like exciting challenges for change of an existing corrupt system for the adults may indeed be an unwanted rearrangement of the wants and needs of children whose political acumen is less advanced than the need for order and consistency in everyday life.The story takes place in Paris in 1970 - 1971. 9-year-old Anna de la Mesa (Nina Kervel-Bey) is a bright child who loves the divinity aspects of her Catholic school and enjoys the wealthy bourgeois elegance that surrounds her. She and her little brother François (Benjamin Feuillet) are informed that their aunt, an anti-Franco activist from Spain, will be moving in with Anna and her parents Fernando (Stefano Accorsi) and Marie (Julie Depardieu). This critical move incites a change in philosophy for Anna's parents and soon they become enchanted with the rise of Allende in Chile and embrace the Socialist mindset and the promised feminist movement changes, moving from their elegant house into a small apartment and demanding that Anna give up her divinity studies 'because the are against Communist thought'. As liaison in France for Chilean activists, Fernando holds strange and frequent meetings, disturbing further the life Anna loves. While little François is able to go along with the life changes, Anna rebels and refuses to alter her goals and needs merely for the 'fad' of her father's frequent trips to Chile while leaving behind her mother to continue writing articles for the ('bourgeois') French magazine Marie-Claire! As the political upheavals increase Anna is more pugnacious in demanding her rights and the finest moments of the story demonstrate how a child can respond to political change and still find her 'place' in the world that she chooses! The pacing of the film is fast and captures the exhilaration of the foment 'round the world in the early 1970s. The cast is excellent, especially the children who have not had prior exposure to acting. The message is a potent one that deserves our attention both as informative of a political era and as a piece of veritas cinema from a fine director and crew. In French and Spanish with English subtitles. Highly recommended. Grady Harp