Mister Morgan

Matthew (Michael Caine) is a widower in Paris... has lived there for years, but has never learned the language. Disgraceful. Now he must start to get out and about and meet the people. He keeps bumping into dance instructor Pauline (Clémence Poésy). They seem to hit it off on some level, and they spend time together, at least for the time being. Matthew keeps trying to knock himself off, but we're not sure why. His son Miles ( Justin Kirk) and daughter (Gillian Anderson !!) show up, and they aren't sure what to make of Dad's friendship with Pauline. Family dynamics. Miles thinks he knows what's best for Dad and butts heads with both Matthew and Pauline. Lots of family conflict. Good stuff. Directed by Sandra Nettelbeck, who has written and directed several projects. Story by Françoise Dorner, une actress/directeur françoise. Moves kind of slow and bleak, for the last part of the story, but it is what it is. Interesting study of family relationships. Showing on netflix. No car chases, no gunfights. Michael Caine is good stuff.

Last Love (2013)

This is such a poignant and well meant movie it's hard to not like it and its intentions. What it fails to do is "rise above." It is a heartfelt look at finding meaning at the end—and the beginning—of life in Paris, and yet it remains somewhat prosaic, missing a beat now and then. I loved it at times, but only very much liked it by the end.

I love without reservation "Mostly Martha," the most successful movie by the director, Sandra Nettlebeck. In that one, she makes her understanding of being German, and its limitations, an important part of the movie. Here we are in France, in a plot based on a French novel, with a British actor playing an American and a young French woman. Michael Caine is nor ordinary actor and he's actually wonderful here. And indeed the young woman who plays his muse, in a way (the woman who creates the "crack" in his world that is the key to the movie), is also very good, if common (played by Clemence Poesy—she appears in a couple Harry Potter movies).

What succeeds beyond these very good performances is the idea of a man near his last days in Paris, after the death of his wife, and a young woman who befriends him out of some unexplained loneliness. What they form is an odd but believable friendship. Their family and other friends do not understand or approve, but it makes sense to them, even when it's awkward. It's a kind of brave and interesting subject.

What it lacks is exactly the right feel and touch, the sense of trueness to spirit and character that people might actually have. There are moments that are just great, a rebellion or a quiet look, and then there are moments where the characters act, well, out of character. A hair.

If this seems like picking on nuances you have to understand that the movie is about such emotional and psychological nuances. It sets its own bar high, and so suffers from that. Sometimes.

See it? Yes. I liked it wholly. But see also "Mostly Martha" for a similar sense of finding what matters, of pan-European feelings, of crossing normal boundaries with romantic flair.

"Sometimes you meet someone that requires all the love you have to give." Matthew Morgan (Caine) has just lost his wife and his world no longer makes sense. Living in Paris and unable to speak the language he only has one friend left. On a train one day he meets Pauline (Poésy) and strikes up an instant friendship. After Matthew tries something drastic his two estranged children show up and old tensions come back. This is a hard movie to describe. It's not boring but not much happens. It's slow moving but keeps you interested. Michael Caine is great in this and this is not so much a love story but more of a redemption story. I am finding it hard to come up with something to say about this not because I didn't like it but because of the subject. This is really just another widow father and estranged children movie but this feels like so much more. This is a movie where you just have to see it to see what I mean. I recommend this. Overall, a cookie cutter plot but anything but a cookie cutter movie. I give it a B+.

While this is a bit lighter in tone than the Oscar winner Amour, it seems to try to go for some of the same feelings and touches. Michael Caine is impeccable in his role, so is Michelle Godet, who has a weird role to play. It is walking a fine line, not really declaring what the relationship is between those two characters and this might be one of the best things that happen.

Through a bit of lost in Translation in and you have a very fine movie. It's weirdness might either attract you more to it or appall you a bit. Whatever the case you can't fault it's story, about lost love and maybe even lost hope. Family is a big part of life and it is here too. A bit of Song of Marion is in here too. So good ingredients, not perfect but very good movie still

This movie is so emotional and from the very beginning,I was carried away with the sympathy and very doleful atmosphere throughout the movie. Michael Cain did a wonderful job here. He was able to maintain his character till the end. The soulful music is just right to the theme which it made the setting more captivating.The other cast were wonderful as well. After watching this movie, it makes me more reluctant to visit Paris in the near future.This is one of the great movies I have ever seen in my life. I wish there is an English version of the book where the movie was taken from.

This is a must to see movie.