Le Petit Nicolas on the M6: Which film classic is the film about?

The comedy Les Vacances du Petit Nicolas, the prankster’s second cinematic adventure imagined by Sempe and Goskin, airs this Friday night on the M6. Directed by Valérie Lemercier, Cade Meradi, and Dominique Lavanant, who struggled to make the film, the film follows a young Nicola (Mateo Boisselier) with his parents and grandmother by the sea.

For Les Vacances du Petit Nicolas, director Laurent Thirard explains that he was inspired by films such as Jacques Tatt’s great classic Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot or even L’Hôtel de la plage by Michel Lang. It has the opportunity to recapture the festive spirit evoked in his film.

“When approaching the vacation aspect, I thought of my childhood movies like Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot or L’Hôtel de la plage”says the filmmaker, who was already behind the camera for Le Petit Nicolas in 2009. “I thought this theme would allow us to move to a different setting and express the carefree holidays of the 50s and 60s.”

Hitting theaters in 1953, Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot, a little gem of poetry and absurdist humor, follows the arrival of the aforementioned Monsieur Hulot (Jacques Tat himself) at a quiet seaside resort on the Atlantic coast. Its presence will revolutionize the habits of city dwellers who spend their holidays there. As for L’Hôtel de la plage, it tells the story of the love, rivalries and desires of a group of people who meet each year for a summer holiday in Brittany.

Les Vacances du Petit Nicolas was filmed in the Vendée on the island of Noirmoutier and the Plage des Dames was the main location. The exterior shooting of Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot took place in the small seaside resort of Saint-Marc-sur-Mer in Loire-Atlantique. Finally, footage of L’Hôtel de la plage was partially shot at the Grand Hôtel des Bains de Locquirec, located in the Finistère department.

“Monsieur Hulot’s Vacation” trailer: