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Actors: Frances McDormand, Hatty Jones, Nigel Hawthorne, Ben Daniels
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Madeline |
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Twelve little girls attend boarding school in a beautiful house in Paris, looked after by a nun, Miss Clavel, and Helene the cook. They are very happy. Every day they go for a walk, enjoying the many sights of the city. Irrepressible Madeline is the littlest, and an orphan. One day she gets appendicitis and is rushed to hospital. She recovers quickly from the operation and is proud of her scar. She sneaks out of her room to visit another patient, Lady Covington, the school's patroness. Sadly the kind old lady soon dies and her grieving husband plans to close the school.
Madeline returns from hospital just as the Spanish ambassador is moving in next door. Madeline meets his son Pepito and immediately decides the rude boy is a "bad hat". No one notices a sinister man in the bushes taking photographs. Pepito runs wild, frightening the girls with ghost masks, scary voices, and his pet snake - though Madeline is defiantly unafraid. She tricks him into helping her by asking him to be especially quiet one day when Lord Covington is showing some prospective buyers around. Naturally he makes a lot of noise, even setting off firecrackers. The sale of the school is prevented for now.
Pepito's tutor Leopold is a suspicious character, insolent, ignorant and lazy. When he asks Pepito's parents if he can take him to the circus, he is secretly annoyed when they decide to come along. On the same day Miss Clavel takes the girls to the circus, and Madeline spots Leopold and some circus clowns bundling Pepito into a van. She bravely tries to stop them, but is kidnapped herself.
--Maureen Evans, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of Madeline |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of movie:
- 1930's-1950's
Kids growing up/acting up?
Yes
Parent(s) gone?
- Orphan story
Age group
- trouble in grade school
Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Profession/status:
- student
Age:
- a kid
Hair color?
- red
Hair type
- (woman) medium/shoulderlgn straight
Body type
- (woman) average
Events of movie makes character more...
- aggressive
Ethnicity/Nationality
- French
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor?
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Hair color
- brunette (Brown)
Hair style
- (woman) medium/shoulderlgn curly
Body type
- (woman) average
How much in movie?
- 60%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- French
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 60's-90's
Profession/status:
- not employed but independently wealthy
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 20%
Hair color
- white
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) average
Ethnicity/Nationality
- French
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- France
City?
Yes
City:
- Paris
Misc setting
- school
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Movie makes you feel...
- encouraged
Any profanity?
- None
If this is a kid's movie...
- Ages 5-10
Is this movie based on a
- book
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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