Summer Hours (2008)

This sumptuously photographed, leisurely film about different kinds of family legacy is intelligent and thought-provoking. The film deals with several generations and their attitudes towards the the nature of art, of business and of life itself; in its own way it asks several age-old questions--What does our life mean? At our death, what do we leave behind? How does our idea of culture continue when globalization undermines a sense of local tradition? Loaded with convincing performers, taking its time to examine siblings in conflict, and humane in approach, this is the kind of film that sadly seldom is made in our own country--this week, folks are flocking to The Avengers, a film essentially made for fifteen year old boys who like to see epic versions of violent video games--any other week it's much the same; I suppose these films fill the corporate coffers, but they offer any real insight into our lives? I think Summer Hours does just that.

I love Juliette Binoche's acting, but she can't save a film from its self-destructive implosion. French viewers and critics (non-French Franco-philes) too often use the crutch of contrasting negatively American films with French films. French films have depth and great acting ad nauseam. I have seen many, many French films over the years and even the best (I read reviews before viewing them) are usually just above average, same as America or British films. Ironically, one of Binoche's best performances is in the American film, Dan in Real Life. She is also quite good in the adventure film The Horseman on the Roof, a very, very good film. Anyway, Summer Hours has a Bergman feel, but none of his story telling ability and very little of the performances he elicits from actors and actresses. Not a winning film.

The first 30 minutes of the movie is good. You can tell that the actors in the movie are talented. The emotion, the feeling is good. But the plot is awful. This movies does not have a plot. A mother dies and the children has to share what is left. There is no drama. Only one side story that tells, the grand child smokes pot. There are some few things, where you think, YES now the story steps up. But no, it doesn't happen. The movie was waste of time in every way!This movie, does not want to shock us, it does not want to make a point. It does not want to prove anything. It does not want to teach it, and it does not even want to to entertain us. Greatly disappointed.

An idyllic French country house and garden, summer, a family gathering with several generations eating and playing al fresco. The occasion - the mother's 75th birthday. Beautiful, elegant and stylish, Edith Scob masterfully manages to show us the vivacious and sophisticated woman she once was as well as the elderly widow she now is, facing her own mortality, without doing a thing except being there - the matriarch whose memories are her expression and her purpose. Her preoccupation is what will become of the house and its contents after her death? Her uncle, whom she adored, was a famous artist and his collection of furniture, glass and paintings, including two Corot's, have huge emotional value, as well as being valuable collectors items and museum pieces. Her three modern grown up children each have their own busy lives and only her eldest son, played by Charles Berling, has the time and nostalgia necessary to contemplate keeping the house and its content for future generations. A subtle lesson in how art and beauty outlive us all in this family tale of death and inheritance. There is no drama, no quarreling, just the unspoken sadness at the inevitability of one era ending and another beginning.The film was made in co-operation with the Musee d'Orsay and the Louvre and the characters who come to the house to assess the contents are all real museum personnel. There is some fine acting from Juliette Binoche as the distracted slightly ruthless daughter, unusually blonde, and a poignant performance from Isabelle Sadoyan as the housekeeper, Eloise, whose involvement with the house over many years was such that she barely noticed the works of art as such, and has the healthiest attitude of all to precious objects.This is not just an enchanting glimpse into the lives of others but also a philosophical tale.