Dir. Oliver Assayas, 2008, with Charles Berling, Juliette Binoche.
The mother with a lovely old house in the country outside Paris and a fine art collection and Art Nouveau furniture celebrates her 75th birthday with her children, partners and grandchildren, on a fine summer’s day. She talks to her eldest son about what will happen after she dies- the house, the paintings, the furniture, the sketchbooks of her famous painter uncle- but he is unwilling to listen. Quickly, rather suddenly, they are all in a hurry to leave- Paris, New York, Beijing…
On an autumn day the three children are there again, for her funeral, and to decide what to do with her inheritance. They cannot bear to be touched by her death. The eldest son’s dream that they will keep it all, that their children will come there to be in the country in that same quiet atmosphere......... was indeed a dream. Plans are made to sell the valuable items, the house also. Everyone is in a hurry. A sudden quarrel is equally suddenly made up. There is no listening, no meeting. Brief scenes of a car very quickly driven, hurriedly parked, tell us all. A granddaughter is charged with shop-lifting and possession of drugs, to her parents’ complete surprise.
A family disintegrates in the face of modern life.
