As seen at AFI
Fest 2008:
As
Terminator Salvation assaults the senses of the multiplex
crowd, viewers seeking a more substantive time at the movies
should look no further Olivier Assayas' Summer Hours, an
engrossing French drama about grown siblings (Juliette Binoche,
Jérémie Renier, and Charles Berling) coping with the loss of
their mother by considering their future ownership of her home.
While the
film comes with my wholehearted recommendation, note that I
wrote "engrossing" and not "emotional." Summer Hours
lacks poignancy because the characters are not relatable,
everyday people; they make up a typical elitist, artsy-fartsy
French crowd. In one scene, a character heart-wrenchingly
resents the siblings’ decision to give away certain famous
art-pieces in the home, a feeling that currently
strapped-for-cash moviegoers (at least in the U.S.) will find to
be a bit distant from their sympathies. Nonetheless, Summer
Hours finds exceptional authenticity in the way the siblings
interact regarding the home, which they grew up in and spent
countless hours enjoying over summers with their children. Two
of them could care less about the place—it holds sentimental
value, but this is worth less to them than the money they'll
bank from selling it—and one sees the need to keep it to stay
true to his mother. In this very conflict, Assayas engages in
natural, nuanced character development, showing how these people
have grown over the years to become who they are today.
There isn't a whiff of sentimentality or manipulation to be
found in the exercise.
While I may
not have left Summer Hours touched, there's no reason I
should have. Only in Hollywood is there the expectation that
good-hearted real people always be sympathetic. This is a movie
about family that strives for so much more than the typical
teary-eyed American melodrama. Assayas didn’t need to explore
clichés because they wouldn't have added anything to the story,
and that he realized this is a testament to his measured
judgment as a filmmaker. Coupled with great performances, the
writer/director has provided this summer’s first piece of
terrific counterprogramming. If you can’t find it at your local
art-house, note that it’s also available via cable Video
OnDemand, thanks to cutting-edge distributor IFC.
-Danny Baldwin,
Bucket Reviews
Review Published
on: 11.5.2008 (edited for theatrical release re-run on
5.25.2009)
Screened on:
11.1.2008 at the ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood, CA.
Summer Hours is Not Rated and runs 103
minutes.
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