Monsieur Batignole is a French film directed by Gérard Jugnot, starring himself in the role of Edmond Batignole and Jules Sitruk as Simon Bernstein.
'Summer 1942, Paris is under German occupation... Edmond, a butcher whose future son-in-law is an active collaborator, inadvertently takes part in the deportation of his Jewish neighbour's family. When the neighbour's son , Simon, shows up on what used to be his doorstep, he finds that Edmond and his family are now living there. Feeling guilty and seeking to avoid trouble with the German authorities, Edmond hides the boy who is soon joined by his two little cousins, also orphaned by the war. As it becomes increasingly difficult for him to hide the kids from his family and from his son-in-law's fascist patron, Colonel Spreich, Edmond finds himself getting more and more attached to them. Risking it all, he decides to help make their way to the Swiss border. But that's where his troubles begin.'
Monsieur Batignole was indeed humorous in some instances, while remaining thoughtful and contemplative of the injustices of war, but I felt overall the film fell a little flat. The children's characters were extremely irritating, and I found it difficult to sympathize with them at all. The ending was also a little hurried and incomplete.
