Here’s an odd couple: Germain, the grossly overweight bumpkin played by Gérard Depardieu in the sweet French confection “My Afternoons With Margueritte,” and a refined 95-year-old woman named — you guessed it — Margueritte (two Ts because her father was a lousy speller). They meet one sunny afternoon on a park bench as they watch the pigeons, and become fast friends.
Soon Margueritte (a wonderful Giséle Casadesus) is introducing the uneducated Germain to such highbrow literature as Albert Camus’ “The Plague.”
Though Germain calls himself a loser, he has lots going for him. He’s gentle, compassionate, reads the dictionary to his cat and has a sexy girlfriend, bus driver Annette (Sophie Guillemin), who’s young enough to be his daughter.
In flashbacks, we discover he came from a dysfunctional family — Mere attacked Pere with a pitchfork while the old man was watching TV. Germain’s father is gone, but his mom — a world-class crazy lady — lives next door. Trivia buffs will be delighted to find her played by Claire Maurier, the mother in Truffaut’s “The 400 Blows” (1959).
“My Afternoons With Margueritte,” directed and co-written by Jean Becker, is a feel-good crowd-pleaser. The story is sentimental and slight, but the chemistry between Depardieu and Casadesus makes up for any faults. Depardieu’s days as a leading man might be over, but he has a bright future in quirky roles like Germain.