Père et fils (2003) Online

I saw this movie at the Toronto Film Festival because it starred the great actor Phillipe Noiret. It arrived with little fanfare, compared to a film like "The Barbarian Invasions," which it actually resembles. Well it turned out to be a great film, and actually better than "TBI" in that the relationships between the father and his sons were more clearly defined and developed in this film. It is touching and very funny at the same time. The film also makes some amusing digs at the French Canadians by French people from France! Anybody who sees this film will want to immediately call his or her father up if at all possible, wherever he may be, and tell him how much he is loved, for the film movingly shows the importance and uniqueness of fathers and of the power of reconciliation and forgiveness. The director in the Q & A said he wanted to simply make an entertaining film. What he has created is so much more than that!

This movie was extremely well acted. Of course, Noiret is a little bit too much "noiret-esque", but he's good, as well as the three "boys". But it was a bit long, and it felt like something was missing, that such a plot with such good actors could have make an even better movie.

This film has recently been issued on a DVD in France with (French) subtitles. It is about an old father who wishes to reunite his three quarrelling sons so pretends that he is gravely ill and asks them to accompany him on a final voyage to see the whales off the coast of Canada.

That is the plot of the film, but it is not therein that lies its principal interest. What captivates the spectator is the interaction of the four main characters of the film. Although the film was for the most part made in Canada ( the French-speaking part), it is essentially a French film about French people. The use of some minor Canadian characters in the film with their weird French accents gives something of an 'unusual touch' to the film but I don't think the film can be considered as Canadian/North Amercian. Canada here is just a backdrop to the relations being played out between the four main characters.

I have always loved Noiret as an actor, especially with his deep voice ( I'm very sensitive to voices) and was not disappointed by his mainly light-hearted and comic performance here. I had not heard of the other young actors except Charles Berling whom I do know, but found all their performances very good. I did appreciate the comic and light-hearted attitude of the actors. The Director, Michel Boujenah, who's first film it is, states on the DVD that he wanted the film to be light-hearted and not sad !! So this can be watched without fear of a nasty shock at the end !

I am not sure whether the film would appeal to non-francophone audiences as much of the fun Is in the dialogues rather than in the action, all of which supposed a reasonable to good grasp of the French language to pick up all the ironic comments and snide remarks !! Anyway, for my part, I spend a pleasant 90 minutes watching this and would probably watch again some time in the future !

Perhaps the main reason for watching "Pere et fils" is to catch one of the last screen appearances of the great Pillipe Noiret, who died in 2006. Although this is by no means one of his best achievements, Mr. Noiret was a reassuring sight in any of the films in which he appeared. He had such a screen presence and brought so much delight to the movie going public that he will be sadly missed.

That said, this film takes us to meet a French family. Leo, the patriarch sees how his three sons grow distant from one another without any reasonable cause. Leo has to see each son separately, because having them together in one place, is almost impossible. Leo elaborates a plan, one in which he is dying. His one last wish is to go to see the whales in Canada before he dies.

The trip does not start auspiciously, as the three brothers cannot make peace with one another. Leo, is told about a woman with special powers that might be able to help him with his malady. Leo, and the sons embark into a trip to the interior of Quebec, where this woman lives with her daughter. The journey will heal the wounds of the siblings. That alone could cure any sick parent that has witnessed such discord among his children. As for the whales, only Leo has the privilege of seeing one as it jumps from the water, something the rest do not get to see.

A predictable film directed by Michel Boujenah. This was an obvious vehicle for Mr. Noiret, who runs away with the film. The sons are played by Charles Berling, Bruno Putzulu and Pascal Elbe. The scenes from Quebec are delightful as captured by Patrick Blossier.

I lived in Paris for 2 months last year, and on my first day there this was the movie I chose to see by myself at the cinema, as an introduction to french films. And to improve my language skills! I have to say it was a great choice. Funny, even to me with my limited knowledge of French, heartwarming and a great plot, with talented actors and the right blend of sentiment and humour. I wished all my friends were there to see it, but of course none of them speak French. recommended for newcomers to French language movies! I just wish they brought it out on DVD with English subtitles so I could let everyone back home see it! Ten out of ten! Go buy it!

In case there are any academics/pseudo-intellectuals etc watching the first thing to say is that the title is not a direct translation from Turgenev, or even Hemingway. What we have here is a gentle comedy woven around our old friend the dysfunctional family. For better or worse this movie is going to be sold on top-billed Phillipe Noiret, arguably the best Italian (if we don't count Yves Montand) actor France has ever produced (witness his 'Aldo' in 'Cinema Paradiso') if not also the best South American (viz: his Pablo Neruda in 'Il Posto'). One of the old guard of French cinema - Michel Piccoli, Jean Louis Trintagnant, Michel Serrault - he couldn't turn in a bad performance if he tried so that just by turning up on the set he is going to save a bad script or enhance a good one. This is somewhere in between. Apart from Noiret none of the other principals means anything outside France and some of them are not even going to draw flies at the domestic box office. That aside this is a fairly decent effort and as good a way as any to beguile an hour or so. Patriarch Noiret, like Adam, has three sons, the anal-retentive businessman, the loser and the ho-hum, to say nothing of a doctor brother, who kick-starts what plot there is. In the wake of a health scare and some tv documentary footage featuring whales, Noiret contrives to unite the family via a trip to Montreal combining a whale hunt. The results are predictable but nevertheless enjoyable, laffs, tears, trauma plus a cutesie 'did he or didn't he see it' wrap shot. See it if you're a father, a son, or even a transvestite nun.

This movie had everything to shine, but Boujenah did something I can't understand. He throws away the Quebec accent and replaced it by an accent so clean and polite that even the good family doesn't speak. I took what this population is so proud about like if it was a shame. This alone breaks all the mood of the film and this movie could have been shot anywhere where people speak French and we would have never seen the difference. It's just like throwing away the French bread rod or stealing the monarchy from England...

This movie had everything to shine, but Boujenah did something I can't understand. He threw away the Quebec accent and replaced it by an accent so clean and polite that even the good family doesn't speak. He took what this population is so proud about like if it was a shame. This alone broke all the mood of the film. This movie could have been shot anywhere where people speak French and we would have never seen the difference. It's just like throwing away the French bread rod or stealing the monarchy from England...