Run time: 82 mins

Directed by Jean Becker (son of Jacques) in 2009 “My Afternoons With Marguerite” is a sweet natured, heart in your hand, French comedy.

Set in a small, sunny town, Germain (Gérard Depardieu), a semi-literate, bumbling, fat handyman, strikes up an unlikely friendship with ninety-something Marguerite (the astonishing, real life nonagenarian, Gisèle Casadesus). Their chance meeting on a park bench sets in motion a whimsical friendship. Marguerite reads Camus to the big man, and slowly sets him on a path to self-improvement.

It’s unashamedly cosy, inimitability French, set in a leafy town where the sun always shines. The character of Germain is a strange one, a mixture of blustering assurance and low self-esteem, despite having a fabulous blonde girlfriend half his age. Such inconsistencies Depardieu pulls off with ease. However, Gisèle is the star; an actress since the 1930s, she is grace and charm and French, personified.

“It’s charming, sentimental, well-acted, and any readers’ group should make an outing to see it.” (Observer)

It is simply gorgeous and heartwarming. Don’t miss it this time around.