by Clarke Fountain
synopsis
In this affectionate feature, an adult child of a functional family recollects his largely satisfactory childhood in Paris in the 1960s. The large apartment Pierre grew up in not only housed his parents and himself, but his mother's aged mother and his grandfather. In addition, the premises serve as offices for the two men's general medicine and acupuncture practice. The boy's grandmother is a particular favorite of his, and in one of the more moving flashbacks of the film she is shown preparing the boy to understand her impending death. Another fond reminiscence concerns the uproar the boy's household undergoes as they prepare to receive the American film star Tony Perkins into the doctors' offices for an acupuncture treatment.
