Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
Théo is given up for adoption by his biological mother on the very day he is born. After this anonymous birth, the mother has two months to change her mind… Or not. The child welfare services and adoption service spring into action… The former have to take care of the baby and support it during this limbo-like time, this period of uncertainty, while the latter must find a woman to become his adoptive mother. She is called Alice, and she has spent the last ten years fighting to have a child.
In Safe Hands (Pupille) is a quietly powerful French drama that earns its strong reputation primarily through its acting. The ensemble cast, particularly the social workers and adoptive mother Alice (played by Sandrine Kiberlain), delivers deeply naturalistic, emotionally resonant performances that anchor the film. The plot is methodical and procedural by design, offering an unusually patient look at the French child welfare system rather than melodrama — respectable but not structurally exceptional. Cinematography is competent and understated, serving the realist tone without drawing attention to itself. Novelty is moderate: the dual-perspective structure (institution and adoptive parent) offers a fresher angle than most adoption dramas, but the territory is familiar. The ending is emotionally satisfying and earned without being manipulative, though it lands where most viewers expect.