The Last Days of Chez Nous

Full of wonderfully acted, beautifully observed moments in the life of an unconventional family, this was called, by one critic, 'an Australian 'Hannah and her Sisters'. And to an extent that's not a bad description.

But this film is messier, less complete in it's vision and less bold in it's style. None-the less it's still entertaining, moving, and very worth seeing.

Bruno Ganz's half French, half German accent is a bit distracting (he's terrific otherwise), and, for me, the ending felt rushed, as if things had to get to a conclusion.

It's a film I'd actually wished had gone on longer, or had been willing to leave things less resolved. Once you start with the messiness of life, you lose something with a last minute switch to the neatness of movies.

I liked My Brilliant Career back in 1980, but after seeing this effort from the brilliant turned masterful Ms Armstrong I suspect that its traditional feminist message ("I won't give up my dreams for a man") made it more palatable for the times. Chez Nous doesn't let you off the hook so easily. What I found so compelling is its gentle but firm refusal to adopt a condescending attitude towards the characters or the audience. I rented this film with Jane Campion's Sweetie, which I found audaciously weird but riveting, in fact I now own Sweetie. Like Chez Nous, it deals with heroines and their family relationships, particularly involving sisters and to some degree, fathers. Both films are from the same part of the world. I was happy to find a used copy of Sweetie a few months after seeing it, but I watched Chez Nous twice before returning it, and that's the highest recommendation I can give.

Beautifully photographed and directed film, contrasting a family home with the outback, and characters trapped as much by themselves as by those around them. The road trip does not liberate the woman much, though she gets to learn her dad's views on God. Good acting all round, especially Harrow and Hunter, this is purely character driven, and what is predictable about it would be equally so in life. I liked the later scenes where the French husband begins to see his error. (One thing though: when they got the German Bruno Ganz why not change the character to German too?)

Not only an interesting study of different family/personal dynamics but so atmospheric - I felt as if I was in that city (Melbourne?), & kind of fell in love with it. The film is sad, beautiful, funny & realistic. To this day, I find myself uttering "This haircut is over!" (in an Australian accent); Kerry Fox /Vicki's typically understated way of saying she feels terrible after a break up. Kind of an indie classic.

Half the time middle aged people acting like teenagers Not one likeable character