L'épine dans le coeur

Just saw this film in NYC, there was also a Q&A after with the man himself after.

I found the film to be a beautiful portrait of someone's life, and how the people around them are affected. Michel said in the Q&A that he wanted to give his Aunt some visual record/history of her life, and this film goes to show that you don't need to create a Hollywood fictional character, real people are just as interesting and entertaining. Gondry uses a mixture of visual formats to illustrate the documentary, from super 8 to his well known stop motion. This adds a richness, and a historical depth that works within the context of the film. The film is emotionally moving at times and also humorous. The film is simple and enjoyable, one that does not need to be taken too seriously, yet carries tones of a maturity in Gondry's work that is often not always so prominent.

Go see it!

The documentary about Suzette's professional life is good and interesting, mainly when Suzette's former students appear to talk about their memories and the impact of Suzette's work for their lives.

However, I considered extremely unnecessary the details about her personal life, mainly about her life with her son, Jean-Yves.

The film would be a documentary, not a drama and, although I like his works as director, I think he used those personal dramas to bring more appeal to the film, what I considered regrettable.

The music is good and, although simple, Gondry shows why he could create good films, however not this, specifically.

I was able to see this movie at SXSW this year, and I'm grateful that I had that privilege.

I really enjoy being able to look into a stranger's life and just learn random tidbits that would otherwise remain unknown. Being able to see the life of Suzette Gondry was very interesting. The film seemed like a personal movie that Michel made just for him and his family, but it was neat being able to watch this film and feel as if you're being welcomed into their lives--if even just a small part.

After learning about all the ups and downs of her life and watching the impact she has had on many people, I felt as if Suzette had been a part of my life.

Gondry's movies are usually strong because they're visually original, creative and have a unique DIY innovative edge, while reflecting genuine humanistic tendencies.

The life of the director's aunt is used here in that vein - except there's willingly little to enjoy visually: Gondry attempts to shoot a documentary and aims at a certain 'realism'. Except here, maybe because he's familiar with the cast, which would allow him to ask intimate questions to relatives in the private sphere, 'realism' becomes 'voyeurism'. Questions asked to the poor cast are just plain bad taste. And the humanistic tendencies Gondry so beautifully explored in all his previous movies are travestied in facebook-era voyeurism.

A poor, disappointing 'effort' which can evoke, quite oddly, the most sadistic of Andre Gide. Except Gide is fully aware of what he's doing - which Gondry doesn't even notice.

Michael Gondry, renowned for his visual escapism and audacious visuals, brings us a sombre, almost exclusively down-to-earth low key picture of the life and times of a section of the Gondry family. Focused primarily on his Aunt Suzette, a retired school-teacher is a secluded village district, Gondry subtly paints a picture of an ordinary family and its trials and tribulations. Save for the odd bits of quirky animation, a train-set functioning as a time device and a bit of cinematic fun with invisible children, Gondry goes full frontal bare minimum on us, largely escaping more inventive cinematography, instead for a more sombre, albeit simultaneously ecstatic presentation of tidbits of family history.

Aunt Suzette is an endearing person, as is her somewhat estranged, even resentful, son Jean Yves. Firmly on their shoulders the almost prosaic movie does delivers moments of restrained satisfaction, much like peeking at home movies of your neighbours. Venturing a bit through time and touching on some grinding internal family issues, Gondry's documentary is a slight odd ode to the Gondry clan, which at times feels too personal to actually be suited for a publicly attainable feature. The movie even features significant snippets of private collections of 16mm home-made movies, which, largely unedited, imprint an even more voyeuristic feel to the viewing. By the end credits I did come to like the family, and even developed an affinity for the warm demeanour of Michael Gondry himself. Suzette as well as draws you in and surprises with small tidbits of prolific wisdom as well as her heartfelt remembrance of days past. This is probably the type of movie most of us would dream of doing - a summary of a life of someone dear to you kept forever on celluloid.