7/6/09

Summer Hours

"L'heure d'été" (with English subtitles) is not for everyone. In my opinion, it has three individual moods:

The first shows us a gala family reunion in an elegant country home, complete with lovely people, delectable food, happy children and a house full of museum-quality artifacts. During this interval, the aging matriarch tries to give her eldest son some instructions about disbursing her belongings after she is gone, but he refuses to listen to her.

The second set of scenes illustrates how complicated it is to cope with estate matters when the children haven't been brought into the decision-making process.

The third mood evolves as we watch the effect on deceased matriarch's home and her beloved treasures, as the next generation, with its total lack of elegance, its disregard for tradition and its selfish habits, wreaks havoc to her cherished property.

Some reviewers are of the opinion that this matriarch represents France, but I think she represents humankind. Complaints about "this younger generation!" have been with us since Cicero, so let's not get too deep here, okay? It is what it is...