I may have mentioned this before, but I savour moments like this when I am so thankful that I am in KL and not in Terengganu anymore. The Alliance Francaise in Kuala Lumpur is currently holding the 2010 French Art and Film Festival (FAFF) and I attended one of the movies that they brought over.
With a total of 8 films choose from, I was initially clueless on which movie to watch ( besides the much publicized Coco Avant Chanel). Being the nerd that I am, I naturally checked out the festival event page on Facebook and I found my answer through a film fanatic who mentioned in the page that Summer Hours (L’heure d’été) is the clear winner of them all.
It seems as though I was not the only one who felt that way, judging from a rather good turn out that Sunday afternoon. After all, it has a string of accolades to go by, and not to mention good ratings everywhere across the internet.
So what is this movie all about? !warning spoilers abound!
The movie revolves around a matriarch, Helene and her familial home as she prepares for her own death and the (dis)continuation of the family’s history. Helene’s children, all grown up with lives and families of their own, return to their home in the north of Paris for her 75th birthday. Helene was the niece of impressionist artist Paul Berthier, who passed down to her a love for the arts, and hence amassed a treasure trove of arts in the house. She discusses with her eldest son, Frederic, about the house and its art collection that is to be inherited by her three children -what is to be sold, donated, distributed after her death. We the audience were taken on a virtual tour of late 19th and early 20th century French art- Degas, Corot, sketchbooks, armoires- this movie was sponsored by Musee D’orsay after all. Her son was however visibly uncomfortable discussing such a morbid topic on her birthday, but Helene acted nonchalant as she relayed her final wishes to him.
The story progresses along with Helene’s passing away soon after. The bulk of the movie looks at how the children are left to deal with not just merely the material inheritance, but also buried familial secrets. Each of her children looked at the house and its art collection in differing values as financial needs, sentimental and artistic worth all had met at the crossroads. Eldest son Frederic would like to keep the house and its memories alive, but brother Jeremie needs the money to help with his new life in Shanghai while sister Adrienne has no attachment to France as she prepares to marry in New York City. They also soon learn the truth about the relationship between Helene and her uncle that lay beneath the veneer that was an innocent image of their parents and their childhood.
As expected of a French movie, the issues of death and loss is displayed without over-sentimentality and hysterics but never devoid of feeling and humanity. One very prominent theme of this film is the concerns about a loss of national identity as the the globalized world becomes a smaller one. One such scene was at the birthday party where sister Adrienne had a small debate with younger brother Jeremie over the quality of Made In China sneakers. Another was after Helene’s death when Adrienne had planned to sell off her granduncle’s art sketchbooks by the page in New York, much to the dismay of the directors at Musee d’Orsay.
The show ends with a weekend party that is held by Jeremie’s children in the familial house just before its ownership is being passed over to its buyer. The house is now stripped of all its furniture and art pieces, along with it all its nostalgia and memories, as it is run over by youths for whom the place is merely a cool venue. Frederic’s daughter takes her boyfriend to the fields at the backyard as she tearfully laments of her family’s broken promise of leaving the house for her to enjoy. It was only at this final scene that I had a glimpse of the children’s opinion of the decision to sell the familial house.
Throughout the movie was the quiet but charming the character of Eloise, the caretaker. It was a heartfelt scene when after Helene’s death, the first thing Eloise did upon entering the house was to take a vase that was about to be wrapped and put away, fill it with water and some flowers. A funny moment was when Eloise was invited by Frederic to take home a momento for remembrance. She chose a vase that she thought was worthless and not liked by Helene, not knowing its true worth as a Bracquemond. Eloise’s attachment to the home and the family is apparent as she wistfully stares at the emptiness of the study with its artwork wrapped up and doors shut.
There is a scene toward the end of the movie when Frederic and his wife painfully confronts the art pieces of their former home now displayed as museum exhibits. I felt that this melancholic scene sums up the movie for me, because seeing an object transform from an everyday occurrence to a display item not only reflected a sudden loss of character in that object, but also the siblings’ unwillingness to defend the family’s memories due to differences in personal direction.
All in all this was a deeply meaningful movie that explored the issues of the times like the appreciation of one’s cultural identity in the modern age, the inevitable dispersion of the family with the death of a matriarch/patriarch, the conflict between preserving a legacy and practical consequences. The film was aesthetically pleasing, set in a charming house filled with lovely furniture and art pieces provided by the Musee d’Orsay. Camera work was great, with countless scenes providing such emotional depth without the need for dialogue.
I do not watch movies very often now, but this was definitely worth the trip to the cinema.
Up next, the Japanese Film Festival! This one only lasts for 10 days, June 17-27, but the movie tickets are only RM5. Eight movies are featured, one of which is an animation. Would love to attend this one soon. Click here for the Japanese Film Festival movie synopses.
so nice