Les Petits riens (1942)
Directed by Raymond Leboursier

Film Review

Les Petits riens is an early example of the anthology film (or film à sketches) that would become a popular mainstay of French cinema in the 50s and 60s.  The film certainly has an impressive cast but a distinct lack of imagination on both the writing and directing fronts prevents it from being as entertaining as it should be.  Formerly a film editor, Raymond Leboursier makes a fairly unimpressive debut as a director, and without the star presence of Fernandel, Raimu and Jules Berry this would be a fairly dismal offering.  After a promising start the film soon stalls as the stories that make it up have less and less interest value.  Things pick up markedly towards the end as Raimu shows up and performs a one-man salvage operation, breaking our hearts (as he is apt to do) in the final poignant vignette.

Film Synopsis

At a reception, a group of friends each recall a small incident in their past which provided a significant turning point in their lives.  Drial admits that he became a famous painter through the misfortune of a road accident.  Jean Astier, a successful businessman, attributes his success to speculation on the stock exchange.  The writer Mesnard was waiting at table when he learned that his first stage play had been a hit in Paris.  La Clermont reveals how fate decreed that she would become a leading actress.  Towards the end of the soiree, Charpillon turns up and confides in Astier that his wife has left him on his wedding day...