Gringalet

A weird one.Fully thirteen years after the first version made in France ,here he is again :Gringalet.

A wealthy man has two sons,one of them is legitimate,the other is not.The first offspring has had a life of luxury and he has become a lazy good for nothing whereas the youthful indiscretion has turned into an artist.He is nicknamed "Gringalet"

The first version was filmed by André Berthomieu featuring Charles Vanel and (it's rare) the playwright himself ,Paul Vanderberghe in the title role.

The remake takes more liberties with the play ,but directing is less static and more inventive than Berthomieu's .Both feature a happy end , which the original play didn't.

Gringalet ,in the Argentinian version has more dynamism ( one should notice that the author was not a professional actor) ; He and Felipe (Philippe) settle their score ,not verbally but with their fists .And when he comes to his father's desirable dwelling for the first time , he brings a bunch of poor brats with him ,who can enjoy the swimming -pool .

The screenwriters added a puppets show, which is a very good idea : Gringalet and his girlfriend make their puppets play "Romeo and Juliet" on stage ,and in the wings ,they play for real; when the girl fears that his now rich squeeze has forgotten her,a puppet falls on the stage ;and when Gringalet ,a bull in a china shop ,tries to dance among the posh people he's not used to , there's a parallel in the show where all the children are laughing at the rag marionette .And "Romeo and Juliet" comes back for the finale.

Of course the actors are completely unknown in France,but Walter Vidarte is really endearing as Gringalet.