![Image](http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa123/cleteux/SilverScreen/poilmuet2.jpg)
![Image](http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa123/cleteux/SilverScreen/poilmuet1.jpg)
Poil de Carotte (Carrot top) is the nickname of François Lepic (André Heuzé) refering to his red hair and freckles. The child is mistreated constantly by his nasty mother and ignored by his absent father. Only the maid shows him some kind of affection. The child starts to think of committing suicide...
Like Jacques Feyder's Visages d'Enfants (1923), this film is about an unhappy child. But, there is a much darker tone in this film. Poil de Carotte is the scapegoat of all evils for his mother. He is constantly bullied, sent for errands, slapped. Life becomes properly unbearable. The father doesn't realise what's happening until later. Duvivier likes to explore the dark side of human beings. There, he has a perfect example of evil with Mme Lepic, François' mother; she is a nasty gossip with a moustache. I was already very familiar with the story as Julien Duvivier remade the film as a talkie in 1932 with Robert Lynen (in the title role) and Harry Baur as the father. Watching the two films side by side, I would say they are both excellent. The child actors in both films are giving brilliant performances, probably due to Duvivier's excellent direction. I would give the 1932 version the edge only regarding the casting of the father, Harry Baur which I find superior to Henri Krauss. There is a wonderful interaction between Baur and Lynen. That said, the silent version is a brilliant picture in its own right with a great use of the lanscape (its was shot in the French Alps). This is definitely a must see!
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
![Image](http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa123/cleteux/SilverScreen/POIL.jpg)
Robert Lynen in the 1932 version