Ma saison préférée

Did I see the same movie as the person who said not to bother? If American movies leave you yearning for more emotionally rich stories, rent this. It hinges on a very simple story that most people will relate to - the gradual decline of an aging parent. The son and daughter who come together to deal with their ailing mother are the characters that drive the plot. They were very close in childhood, but are estranged at the beginning of the movie. The need to deal with their mother's situation provokes some painful delving into their bond. Their characters are complex and fascinating. Deneuve and Auteuil were perfect actors for the sister and brother parts -- Deneuve for her ice-queen qualities and Auteuil for his gift for playing neurotic yet passionate losers -- yet both their performances transcend those descriptions. The character of the mother is terrific as well.

There is a subplot involving a woman named Radish that is a little puzzling, and some details that are purposefully vague (china clock? hospital pervert?) But they don't detract from the movie - the ambiguities enhance it.

Anybody who has a sister/brother will recognize oneself in one (or more) of the likeable characters. IMDB's keywords for the movie are "brain" and "relationship." If you prefer not to bother with these notions, you might want to skip that movie indeed. But you will miss a very human piece of art.

I completely disagree with esh (previous review) for the simple reason that the script is excellent in its character development. By the end of the movie, you know the unique psychology and motivation of each member of the family. I am a big fan of Techine's (Thieves was also really really good). He's not big on blaringly obvious plots. Auteuil and Deveuve were excellent in their roles, subtle and convincing.

Interesting but somewhat cryptic family-dynamics saga presented with characteristic French warmth and some charm. Daniel Auteuil plays a brain surgeon in love with his big sister (Catherine Deneuve). Apparently he has been pining away for her for decades since they are now middle-aged. She's no longer interested in sex, and he apparently never was, since he never married and lived alone. Meanwhile mom, who loved him best, can't live alone anymore because of fainting spells, and so goes to live with Deneuve and her family. But that doesn't work out and Auteuil won't or can't take her in, and so they send her to a nursing home, which she hates. All this occasions brother and sister to spend some time together. They recall with fondness their childhood; and when she breaks up with her husband, little brother rents a nice apartment for himself and her, all the better to live happily ever after.

Well, what a tease. That really doesn't happen. After a bit Deneuve gets seduced by a very aggressive and anonymous intern which reawakens her sexuality and makes her realize she can't live with her brother. And so she leaves him. He breaks into her house in an attempt to get her back....

I think Director André Téchiné did a good job with what he attempted, but could have attempted more. The cast is good, especially Marthe Villalonga as the mother and Deneuve, who has aged well. It's amusing to see that the cool and stately actress is still being sexually abused by the French directors for the audience. I wonder what they would have done if, instead of Hitchcock, et. al., THEY could have gotten their hands on Deneuve's cinematic American soul sister, Grace Kelly. It would have been interesting to see Grace Kelly in, say, Truffaut's Mississippi Mermaid (1969) with Jean-Paul Belmondo instead of Deneuve. Or, how about Grace Kelly as "Belle de Jour"?

But I digress.

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I first saw this film in my mid 20's and realized in hindsight that is was probably the first "adult" film I'd ever seen. These were adults coping with the realities of life, kids, marriage, relationships, an aging mother, death, etc. and not living life in an artificial, adolescent way.

The script is fascinating in that it contains so many wonderful, adult scenes. Some which come to mind immediately are:

When the mother is talking to herself by the swimming pool, Deneuve comes in saying "why didn't you turn on the light maman?", "Are you afraid I might break something" the mother says "No, it's just that you don't know the house and you may hurt yourself", Deneuve answers. The dialogue is so strong in that you get a point of view from all characters, yet other characters see things in a totally different way and they are all valid.

The conversation between Bruno and Emilie after his fight with Antoine about how she thinks Bruno's aged badly. How he sees their relationship and gone badly and in contrast how she sees it.

the conversations between Antoine and Emilie about putting their mother in a nursing home, how she always has to find the solutions to things and when she tries, he criticizes and she breaks down crying.

the point made by their mother at the nursing home regarding her children and modernity. How the children have grown up modern as they had wished but this curse of modernity has led them to put their aging mother into this home.

The way the mother talks so frankly about the grandchildren,"she taps on that damn piano all day, and the boy, a real half-wit."

the close bond between her and Antoine "you don't have to fake sleeping maman, it's only me"

I also love the piece of dialogue, after the mother's funeral, where Emilie has been separated from the family and you feel it's time she goes back home and instead of announcing anything, apologizing or trying to get back to the family's good graces, she turns to her husband Bruno as a matter of factly and says "Do we have enough eggs at home?"

Brilliant writing, brilliant dialogue, superb acting. I highly recommend this truly adult movie. Wish they'd make more like this.