Des fleurs pour Algernon

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Des fleurs pour Algernon is a french-swiss television movie directed by David Delrieux., broadcast in November 2006 on french TV channel France 2. It is based on the classic science-fiction novel Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. It was awarded with the "Laurier Fiction" at the 2007 Lauriers de l'audiovisuel au Sénat, and the "Best television film" Golden Nymph at the 47th Festival de Télévision de Monte-Carlo

Plot

Charles Gaessler, a man with mental disability, is chosen by a team of scientists in Geneva to experiment a new treatment which promises to help develop intelligence. Preliminary tests conducted on Algernon, a laboratory mouse, have been very positive. Enthralled upon watching video footage of the mouse deftly finding its way through a labyrinth, Charles accepts, saying that it is good to be intelligent and he is not afraid because he has his rabbit's foot. Although he is not fully aware of the implications at this stage, it is shown later on that, as a child, he was constantly pressured and harshly chastised by his mother because of his retardation and learning impairment. The scentists, who recorded his interview, are pleased by his motivation, considering that an active involvement might contribute to the success of their protocol.

The treatment works beyond expectations. Week after week, Charles' intelligence progresses, and his I.Q., initially measured at 60, soon reaches 100 (which is defined as an average level of intelligence), then continues to increase steadily. In the high-school where he's been working as a cleaner for years, he realizes how mean others were to him, as he was mocked by students for his clumsy demeanour and subjected to regular pranks by his coworkers. He starts to secretly solve homework for students, who are appreciative, but gets rejected by his coworkers, who no longer recognize him and feel belittled by his now obvious intellectual superiority and witty remarks. He soon stops working there to concentrate on learning full-time. At first avid with knowledge, Charles begins to acquire a university-level education in several fields simultaneously (mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, philosophy, litterature, languages...), getting intensive private teaching with specialists in each discipline.

Meanwhile, becoming more aware of himself, his feelings and desires, he gets charmed by a piano teacher, Alice, and decides to learn to play the piano with her. He impresses her with his extremely fast progression, and they start having an affair, while he reveals nothing about his past or the experiment. But Alice soon realizes that Charles' uncanny intellectual skills are stymied by his lack of maturity and emotions, which manifest in their relationship (he often reacts like and child and is afraid of physical intimacy) as well as in his playing, which eventually becomes highly advanced technically but devoid of feeling. Frustrated, convinced that he couldn't possibily do better and satisfy her, he abandons the piano altogether, becoming increasingly unstable, arrogant and agressive as the gap between his intellectual and affective development widens. They break up. A side effect of his treatment is that it enhances his sensory perceptions, which at first was welcome as it corrected his sight impairment and he no longer has to wear thick glasses, but is now causing him to suffer from sensory overload in a regular urban environment, to the point of provoking violent outbursts when he gets surounded by circulation noises. Charles visits his mother in a nursing home, expecting her to be proud of him, now that he is more intelligent than she ever hoped him to be, but she hardly recognizes him, and harshly rejects him as his staggering transformation appears diabolical to her.

One day, Charles learns that Algernon's skills have started to regress, despite being given higher doses of the treatment. He captures the mouse and starts investigating the issue himself, but realizes that the process is irreversible, and he will most likely know the same fate — returning to his former state. In a fit of anger and desperation, he crushes the mouse with a pillow. Some time later, the team of scientists who designed and supervised the experiment are invited to present Charles' case at a scientific seminar, and Charles has left a message for Alice, asking her to attend their conference. Intrigued at first when she learns about the experiment, she realizes that Charles was the subject when video footage of his preliminary interview is shown, and is moved to tears as she simultaneously understands what he's been through. Charles is at the seminar too but prefers to stay hidden as he can't bring himself to talk to Alice; instead, he releases all the laboratory mice from their cages, provoking a disruption of the seminar.

Soon afterward, Charles' intellectual abilities start to dwindle inexorably, as expected. Alice tries to see him several times, but he never answers or opens his door and stays recluse. Weeks later, when he has finally returned to his initial state of mental disability, he is seen putting flowers on a little makeshift grave he made for Algernon. Alice comes visit him once again, tries to speak to him through the door, saying that she had a job opportunity, she hoped to see him before leaving the country; after an hesitation, Charles goes out, but Alice is already gone; he tries to find her, calls her name in vain, then gets lost in the middle of an empty intersection, as the snow starts falling.

Production

• Script: Anne Giafferi, based on the novel Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
• Length: 94 min
• Shooting location: Geneva
• Country: France / Switzerland

Cast

• Julien Boisselier: Charles
• Hélène de Fougerolles: Alice
• Marianne Basler: Sonia Brugère
• Frédéric van den Driessche : Professor Jean-Pierre Nemur
• Olivier Perrier: M. Pernot
• François Florey: Yvan
• Véronique Mattana: Miss Colinet
• Jean-Pierre Gos: Karim
• Pierre Amstutz: High-school student

See also

• Charly (1968 film, also based on Flowers for Algernon)
• Awakenings (1990 film)

External links

• Des fleurs pour Algernon on IMDb Search this movie on

[[:Category:Science fiction television films]] [[Category:2006 television films]] [[Category:Drama television films]]

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