Both pelican parents take a role in feeding and tending the chicks, feeding them regurgitated fish.
Gérard Blain's sophomore effort ,many consider his best ,is dedicated his film to his own children.
Paul 's father left home when he was still a young boy; he 's determined to be a good father, so that his son will never live through such a trauma. And ,all in all,he will be a good father .
Blain twists the codes of thriller and melodrama ; to give his toddler a better life , he gets involved ,almost in a dream , -was he aware his false friend dealt with false currency?),in a shady business which leads him to an American jail for seven agonizing years ; with a stunning sense of ellipsis ,the director shows his unfortunate hero when he's released:all that happened before and which easily be thriller stuff is not shown at all .
Some accused Blain of misogyny ;he was also accused of homophobia ("le rebelle" ) and of racism ("Pierre et Djamilah ") ;all that was totally unfair; in "le pelican" ,the writer/director had prepared the ground :during his two precious years with his boy, the considerate father would take care of the baby when he would cry at night; he would take him to the Jardin D'Acclimatations to see the animals ; the mother hinted at an assistant shop job but she quickly gave up ; and although she did not ask any questions about the "lucrative job" which might put his husband in jeopardy ,she pointed out that their child could have his own room; in small touches , the wife reveals herself a social climber who does not care for her imprisoned husband and soon divorces him to marry a wealthy man , a smug hateful macho bourgeois who won't even let his wife talk to her ex-spouse .
A lesser talent would have turned this melodramatic situation into a tear-jerker ; all that Paul wants is to know his child ,he is not interested in the dough the stepfather wants to give him (the only concession to classic melo) ; all he can do is to prowl around the house and to look at his beloved boy through binoculars .From a distance .
He watches those bourgeois ' dolce vita ,and some striking but discreet shots show the servant sweeping the floor while a horrible song claiming that life is pretty is heard ......In this house surrounded by high gates ,how can the miserable daddy get to his child? ; the scene when he asks the au pair girl where he can phone is admirable : for a short while, his eyes meet his child's ,but seven years have passed and time has taken his toll.
Like Pierre and his sister in "le rebelle" (1980)he tries to spend some precious moments with his boy , to relive a past the memory of which comes back to haunt him ; but the bourgeoisie is on the right side of the law and it's daddy against the whole world.
Blain's work was never a happy one ;this one is ,Bressonesque,but showing more restrained emotion ,and is perhaps his least accessible;it will reward you ,provided you do not look for something like "Kramer vs Kramer".
