Gigot (1962)

Gigot, a mute who is the butt of everybody's jokes and pranks in his neighborhood, one day meets a homeless woman and her 6-year-old daughter and gives them shelter. The child and Gigot take a liking to each other. The mother is a bit of a slut.

This is not a consistently enjoyable film, but through its ups and downs it is still an interesting one. A personal project of its main actor, it is not a realistic portrayal of poverty, and is designed as to give ample room to his comic and dramatic abilities. The script follows a very predictable sentimental line. The choice of a Parisian setting and musical score seems to be designed for dramatic purposes, taking into account a certain image of France that has consolidated abroad through countless works of fiction. One detail that puzzled me was that Gigot, unlike most people who do not speak in real life, does not seem to have hearing problems (he is spoken to normally and seems to understand it; he also dances to the exact tempo of gramophone music). Despite that, many reviews and sites describe him as a "deaf mute".

Rating: 50