A very entertaining short film set in the atmosphere of 1960s Parisian cafés, inviting us to reflect on appearances, which can sometimes be deceptive.
Understand the story and themes, express your feelings and develop critical thinking.
1The appearance of Gaspar, the homeless man.
Old clothes, disheveled hairstyle: he seems poor, without money. He seems gruff, grumpy, surly, wild. He's a little scary.
2The appearance of Walter, the businessman, restaurant customer.
Well dressed and well-groomed: he seems rich. He seems serious, severe, haughty, sure of himself. He exudes confidence.
3The appearance of Sister Marie Madeleine.
She seems kind, gentle, harmless.
4Explain the scene at second 50 of the film.
The homeless man asks the restaurant customer for money, but he refuses and hides behind his newspaper.
5What happens at 1:20?
The customer seems to have forgotten his wallet.
6What does he decide to do?
He decides to act as if nothing had happened and orders more coffees.
7Why?
He doesn't dare tell the cafe waiter that he has no money.
8What happens at 2:55?
The homeless man asks the nun for money, and she happily gives him some. We understand that she has a lot of money in her bag.
9What does the customer decide to do?
He tries to steal the nun's money.
10What is the policeman doing in the restaurant?
He comes to post a wanted poster for a thief. On the poster, the thief is masked.
11What does the customer discover when he manages to open the nun's bag?
He discovers the thief's mask.
12What is the policeman thinking at this moment?
He thinks the mask belongs to the customer and therefore he is the thief.
13But, in fact, what is it?
The mask was in the nun's bag: she was the thief.
14What happens at the end of the film?
The customer cannot pay the bill and begins to cry. The homeless man finds a ticket and pays the bill for him.
15Express the differences between how the characters look and what they really are.
The businessman seemed serious and confident; but, he did not dare to admit that he had forgotten his wallet and he is ready to steal money. The homeless man seemed mean; but, even though he needed money, he did not hesitate to give what little he had to save the businessman from his situation. The nun seemed gentle and harmless; but, she is actually a thief.
16And is appearance important to you?
Open response/debate
Created with the support of the French Ministry of Education and the CNC.
Watching the film with the family, educational activities with parents at home and with teachers in class.
