In My Afternoons with Margueritte (2010, France), Germain is warm hearted, but he is dismissed by his pub friends in almost every sentence they speak. He is thought of as the “village idiot”.

But he is warm hearted.

His mother criticized the boy’s intelligence and ability to fulfill everyday tasks. Germain, as an older man, barely scraps together a living and lives in a caravan by his mother’s house.

He’s the overlooked, the undervalued, but the beautiful.

Played by Gerard Depardieu, Germain is heart and soul.

He’s resilient in the face of criticism and accepts his lot. He is a giver though he does not receive much.

Every afternoon, Germain goes to a park to watch the pigeons.

Then someone who is also watching the pigeons and quietly reading shows him interest and kindness.

Over time, the lady, Margueritte (Gisele Casadesus), inspires Germain.

She does not reject him, but is genuinely there for him. She does not turn him away.

Margueritte is the kind of adult figure Germain never had.

Germain’s childhood wasn’t the best, but Margueritte’s touch seems to unravel a well of encouragement in his heart.

Learning about life again, in My Afternoons with Margueritte

He learns to embrace life afresh.

She introduces him to reading and books. Germain is illiterate, but as Margueritte guides him, the stories capture his imagination.

Stories in life are like Germain’s. There are people who get criticized and rejected. They think no one believes in them. They may become survivors, some may not survive.

Then, there may come someone into their life who takes a genuine interest and accepts them. Their simple interest causes a downpour of encouragement.

They start to do things they never thought they could since no one had encouraged them before.

They embrace the giver of the encouragement, a giver who shared with a person needing attention.

It makes a truly beautiful image of a huge-hearted, elk-like younger man and his frail and kind elderly friend.

Warnings—contains offensive language and sexual references

Notes—Subtitled in English, Based on the book of the same name by Marie-Sabine Roger, Directed by Jean Becker, Also featuring Sophie Guillemin and Claire Maurier