Richard Berry is something of a throwback to the kind of all-round writer-director-actor that used to be the norm, flitting between drama, comedy, rom-com at will, a Gallic Michael Curtiz if you will. This delightful bildungsroman gives no hint of 22 Bullets, also written and directed by Berry, for example. Jules Sitruk appears to be graduating successfully from juvenile roles and is still working at 23. I for one thoroughly enjoyed his performances in Monsieur Batignole (the work of another fine writer-director-actor Gerard Jugnot) and especially Vipere au poing with an unforgettable Catherine Frot as the mother from hell. I, Cesar, as it has been anglicized is a total delight and shows that Berry - sixty-three years old when he shot this - is completely in touch and in tune with the world of childhood and adept at off-the-wall casting; Jean-Paul Rouve, for example, who played the despicable critic in Monsieur Batignole, turns in a great wacky performance as the gym teacher while Charlie Boorman and his sister also weigh in with solid cameos to say nothing of Anna Karina, who grabs the role of the kind of whack-job that used to go to Carloyn Jones and Shirley MacLaine, with both hands and sinks her teeth in, possibly relishing the chance to get as far away as possible from the merde that Godard inflicted on her. All in all this is a rewarding evening in the salles and stands repeated viewings on DVD.

This movie's a crack. Obviously, Richard Berry is a poor actor. We discover with this movie, quite logically, that he is a poor author too. Well, actually, he is not an author at all. This 'Amelie Poulain' lookalike product is very boring, unimaginative, full of clichés on childhood (and music ad hoc), and the adults around the main character are just clowns. No direction, no action, just the narrative of this Cesar, very thought actually for an immature adult audience. This is very sad to see how french cinema is getting worst and worst, financing such indigent projects when many young authors are starving. Thank you TF1, Canal + and so on.

"Moi Cesar" is a charming movie about the growing pains of a plump, insecure boy, wonderfully embodied by Jules Sitruk. He and his two best pals form a strong friendship that reaches its apex when they run off to London to look for Cesar's friend's British father. They are aided by Anna Karina in a rare role as an Auntie Mame-like character, a punk pub owner with a Tina Turner hairdo. It's a great cameo by the iconic actress. It's a pity that "Moi Cesar" hasn't been released commercially in the US. The movie can be as popular as "Amelie". Richard Berry, the French actor, directed this comedy and Luc Besson was among its producers. Josephine Berry, Richard's beautiful daughter, plays Cesar's love interest.

Moi, César is a lovely french movie. But it's partly American styled. I liked the music very much. It made me think of Yann Tiersen, the composer of the music of Amélie Poulain and Délicatessen. The music gives you an alternative American feel-good movie-feeling. The film is about the serious worries of a 10 year old boy, not really satisfied with his life and his looks, and in love with Sarah. Together with Gloria (she made me think of a punk-version of Whoopi Goldberg) they're looking for Morgan's father in London. The story is not very complicated, it's just an ideal film for a cost evening. Nice film shooting, brilliant music,good actors... very nice!