The Secret Novel of Monsieur Pick

Somewhere on a small peninsula in Brittany there is a very special, unique library. For here are collected all the books that were rejected by publishers and thus never published. It is precisely in this unusual place that the young publisher Daphné (Alice Isaaz) makes a great discovery in the form of a manuscript that, in her eyes, absolutely must be published. And indeed: the novel becomes an instant bestseller. The whole world celebrates the book - except for the famous literary critic Jean-Michel (Fabrice Luchini). He smells fraud - because apparently this literary masterpiece is supposed to have been written by Henri Pick, a pizza baker who died two years ago. Jean-Michel feels called upon to uncover this supposed lie and he sets off in search of the truth with an almost detective's flair. In the process, he gets unexpected help from, of all people, Joséphine Pick (Camille Cottin), who wants to help redeem her father.

The Secret Novel of Monsieur Pick is a light French comedy that asks a rather interesting question: how far can - or should - one be able to separate an artistic work from its creator. Does a book become better or worse because it was written by a simple pizza maker? Is it still permissible to like a painting, a piece of music or a film, even if the painter, the interpreter or the director represents dubious political views or is even a convicted criminal? Can a work of art even stand on its own?

To address this question, Rémi Bezançon (C'est la vie - That's how we are, that's how life is) doesn't approach it with great dramatic depth, though, but with a tongue-in-cheek lightness that works especially well thanks to the splendid interplay between Fabrice Luchini and Camille Cottin (known from the series Call my Agent, which is well worth watching). It's just fun to watch the two of them do their literary investigative work and their biting bickering. As a result, the resolution also works very well, even if it is not exactly surprising and rather conventional.

With good actors, wonderful landscape shots and a nice story, The Secret Novel of Monsieur Pick manages one thing above all: the film can entertain very well. It gives its audience great pleasure and can even give some interesting food for thought. And for that there is a deserved: Worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp