Olivier Jahan was created a lovely and adult sort of film with "Sand Castles". By this I am not saying it's dirty or that sort of 'adult' film (though there is a bit of nudity). Instead, I mean that the story is not intended for those with low attention spans or who require a film to be a by-the-numbers Hollywood sort of affair. It's very original and is yet another example for why I really like watching French films.
When the picture begins, Eleanor (Emma de Caunes) has learned that her father has died and she needs to go to his home in Brittany to settle affairs as well as sell the house. However, she cannot drive and enlists a very odd sort of helper....Samuel (Yannick Renier). Why is this odd? Well, the pair had been lovers some time ago and their breakup was anything but amicable. Plus, by now Samuel is in a new relationship with a woman who apparently worships him. Yet through the course of the film one thing becomes increasingly obvious...there is still a lot of unfinished business between Eleanor and Samuel. What is nice about this film is that it doesn't hurry this along and allows it all to unfold rather normally...normally except that now and again the characters or an unseen narrator talks to the audience! It's an odd ploy...but one that works well.
Overall, this is not exactly a must-see film but it is exceptionally well done and lovingly made. It's certainly worth seeing if you would like to see a finely crafted love story that is anything but typical. What's really interesting to me is that at the film festival where I just saw it, the director and co-writer, Jahan, was on hand to answer questions about his movie. It turns out that some of the film is actually autobiographical. No, there was no Eleanor or Samuel but Jahan's father died and left him a home in Brittany and he, like Eleanor, struggled with what to do with the property. Sadly, however, no distributor has yet been found here in the States for the film, though it did recently play in France. So when you'll get to see it is an unknown but I will try to update everyone when I learn about when this lovely film will be widely available.
