January 28, 2024

I'm not sure that the eponymous French exchange student (Yanis Sharif) had quite this kind of experience in mind when he came to stay with "Anthony" (Saeran Ball). Instead of the usual trip around town, they have to travel to a seaside rest home where his grandfather is on his last legs. It's his mum (Janie Booth) whose father is dying and we discover that their relationship hasn't been good for a while. This state of affairs was quite conceivabl… read the rest.

I'm not sure that the eponymous French exchange student (Yanis Sharif) had quite this kind of experience in mind when he came to stay with "Anthony" (Saeran Ball). Instead of the usual trip around town, they have to travel to a seaside rest home where his grandfather is on his last legs. It's his mum (Janie Booth) whose father is dying and we discover that their relationship hasn't been good for a while. This state of affairs was quite conceivably not helped by her husband "Morris" (David Baddiel) being Jewish. Well that's what he thinks, anyway! When the inevitable does happen, it proves quite surprising where the most useful consolation comes from... It's probably five minutes too long, this - we could probably lose a chunk from the start and the "Morris" character adds very little. The last bit is, however, quite a poignant example of grief being quite an universal thing transcending age and language.

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