“A Good Little Devil” starring Paul Courtios
“Un Bon Petit Diable” (A Good Little Devil) stars Paul Courtois as the effervescent Charles, a boy growing up in mid-19th century France. His life is anything but pleasant. Hunger, beatings, mockery and endless work are the norm. Charles, like most children, is able to weather the storm of life and can always see the light at the end of the tunnel.
His parents have died and he has gone to live with his elderly cousin. The old matron seems to hate not only the children, but Charles in particular. Every small infraction is resolved with a beating or a stay in the cellar. One particular night, after he has angered the old woman, she grabs him by the neck and drags him out of her, where she makes him spend the night in the pigsty. Charles’ only ray of hope at home is Betty, the similarly abused maid.
The two hatch a plan to get the vulnerable Charles out of the clutches of his evil aunt. Fortunately, for both of them, the older cousin is extremely superstitious, which makes his plans easier to carry out. Since Charles always seems to get hit on his bare bottom, Betty decides that would be the best place to put the devil’s marks on him. Then, using a mixture of walnut oil, cobwebs, and duck droppings, she makes an oily black substance with which she places two black handprints on her bottom. When her cousin goes to whip him again, the black handprints are a sure sign that the devil has afflicted his younger cousin, and therefore she must go.
She feels it, along with Betty, in a boarding school where she will learn to behave and stay out of his league. It turns out that the school is not much more than a prison, and even here Charles is subjected to repeated whippings. Charles has his trusty Betty with him, and they’ve proven time and time again that they can get through anything.
Although this is a light-hearted comedy that tackles a sensitive subject, it by no means takes child abuse lightly. Rather, it focuses on a child’s resilience and resourcefulness in times of conflict. There are a couple of subplots that seem like nothing more than filler, but otherwise this is a great coming-of-age movie that’s fun to watch.