Customer Reviews

My Mother's Castle [VHS]

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a film with no action, no violence, no sex, no nudity.
I have seen it 6 or 7 times by the last count.
Superb acting, superb scenery.
The story closely follows Marcel Pagnol's book, and that, by itself makes it worth watching in French. The mastery of the language that Pagnol exhibits, in combination with the sedulously researched historical perspective create a masterpiece.
Other reviewers already have told the story, I am not going to repeat their comments.
If you have children, watch this movie with them. The scene when the schoolteacher father is taking his children along for a stroll, and all the while teaching them is worth millions.
This is not only a coming of age movie, but also a historical snapshot on France at the turn of the century, when science and technology promised a world where everything would be possible.
Of course you should see "My father's glory" first to savor the complete richness and texture of this movie, but it only loses a little if you watch it separately.
Just get both, and be done with it. This is a movie you will watch several times anyway.
A little tragic at the end (this is a French film after all)but no more than the tragedy that was about to unfold in France twice in the next 30 years.

My Mother Castle picks up where My Father's Glory Ends. Like its predecessor, it is a movie that really does not have a plot, but it has well developed characters, a beautiful setting, and wonderful music. In this film, the family visits a beloved vacation home in the South of France as often as possible. The mother Augustine is more the focus of this film, but Marcel's father also plays a significant role. We get a sense of how powerful his father's teaching impacted students when we meet one of his former students who is now an adult. In this film we see Marcel grow up a bit more. He still has a great friend in the country boy Lilli, a friendship which began in the first film. He also has his first crush on a rather eccentric girl. Perhaps the greatest moment in the film is when the family learns that Marcel will be able to attend a prestigious exam school. Marcel realizes that this will give him greater educational opportunities than his father ever had, but he also realizes that he may never be the wonderful person that his father happened to be.

I viewed this film prior to viewing My Father's Glory. This is not to say that My Mother's Castle is not a good enough film to stand on its own. The two films are nearly equal in all aspects. The high standards of the first film were applied to the second film, but since this film takes place after My Father's Glory, it will be less confusing to viewers if they have already met the characters in the first film.

"My Mother's Castle" is a follow-up of the equally brilliant film "My Father's Glory" taken from the books of Marcel Pagnol. This film is like a beautiful painting, true to life and brilliantly acted. It is a film that will leave you in a nostalgic and dreamy mood. It will move you, make you cry both with sadness and joy. A beautiful protrayal of youth, friendship, love and of course Provence. You will all want to go to France on holiday after seeing this film. A MUST see film. Enjoy it everyone!

I first saw this sequel many years ago in French class and it was probably one of the most beautiful pieces of poetry set to film that I had ever seen. For those of you unfamiliar with the first in this two part film series, I really reccomend that you watch LA GLOIRE DE MON PERE (MY FATHER'S GLORY) before seeing LE CHATEAU DE MA MERE (MY MOTHER'S CASTLE). This second part is based on the teen years of writer Marcel Pagnol and some of the most profound memories he had from that time of his life. It follows him, his family and the people who cross his path along the way. We see the triumphs and the tragedies and all incidents are depicted with grace and beauty (even when they are the most painful to watch). Everything from the separation that occurs between parent and child to childhood crushes are shown in a very natural and believable way. What's more, the cinematography just makes the scenes soar. Some of the sequences appear as if out of a luscious landscape painting. Whether you are a Francophile or someone new to foreign film, I highly reccomend this.

The young boy Marcel spends every holiday with his family in their cottage in the hills of Provence. However, every time they leave Marcel wishes to go back to the hills and he is always daydreaming of the hills. As he daydreams he is picked to take the scholarship application test offered once a year by his school and this conflicts with his desires. The teachers in his school, including his father, keep their eyes on Marcel and quiz him constantly. However, due to the deteriorating health of his mother, his family must return to the hills frequently. This means that they will have to walk six miles every time they want to go to their cottage. One day on their way to the cottage, they meet an old student of Marcel's father. The ex-student offers to take them on a shortcut and later offers them a key that takes them through the shortcut, but this is somewhat illegal and it is against his fathers principles. After some consideration the father accepts and the dream of coming to the hills more often seems to be more solid. My Mother's Castle is a narrative account where the audience gets to know Marcel and his family through their actions and their dreams. As the audience follows the story, they are presented with numerous short stories in the family's life that are cleverly intertwined leaving the audience with a terrific cinematic experience.

This movie was wonderful! Although I recommend getting the first movie, Le Gloir de mon pere, it is still great by itself. The overall work, scenery, acting, everything was wonderful! The storyline was fantastic although a bit tragic.

A wonderful lyrical film of childhood and memory. The final scene is a touching finale to Pagnol's paen to his young mother. See both films in sequence if possible, but "My Mother's Castle" is capable of standing alone.

magical, timeless and delightful - I have seen this film many times and recommend it highly.

For anyone who knows the intoxicating atmosphere of Provence in France, but does not have the privilege of living there, this film is a delightful escape to that brilliant landscape set at the end of a gentler and more decorous age, already tainted by the horrors of the twentieth century. A must-see if,like me, you wish to escape the horrors of twenty-first century cinema.

A joyous and entertaining continuation of the story begun in "My Father's Glory." Although the focus is on the beautiful mother, the characterization of the father is just as loving and heartfelt as in the previous film. So good is this film that, even though the family relations are at the core of it and are depicted skillfully, we also learn something about broader French society at the time. And it is all so unforced and subtle. The two films together are a funny and uplifting human experience.