Customer Reviews

Summer Hours - L`heure d`ete (2008) [Import , All Regions]

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Seventy-five year old Helene is a widow living in a gorgeous cottage in the French countryside. We meet her during a visit from her three grown children, and it's obvious that she does not get to see them very often. We find out that she is the niece of a famous French artist, and she has devoted her life to preserving his place in the art world. In fact, she is so dedicated to him that she hasn't changed the house he left to her, and she has kept as many of his works of art (as well as a collection of other's works) as she could. She talks to her oldest son about what will happen when she is gone; he tries to assure her that the children want to keep the house and preserve the art collection. However, she has her doubts.

"Summer Hours" is a uniquely French movie that was commissioned by the Musee d'Orlay (which figures prominently in the plot). Directed by Olivier Assayas ("Irma Vep"), this sensitive almost delicate movie works on so many levels. On the surface, the film explores the struggle that often ensues between siblings and family members after the death of a loved one. What do you do with all their stuff? In this case, some of the "stuff" is very valuable, which complicated the scenario. Anyone who has experienced the death of an elderly relative and seen the friction that can result when dividing up their "stuff" will surely relate. On another level, we can see Helene's struggle to let go of what she has spent an entire lifetime valuing. She understands that she cannot burden her children with the unenviable task of carrying on her uncle's legacy. This part of the film is gut-wrenching and so beautifully nuanced. Ultimately, the movie attempts to tackle the permanence of important art versus the relative impermanence of objects valuable only for sentimental reasons. "Summer Hours" subtly explores these important topics without ever being heavy-handed or obvious

A number of wonderful French films were released in 2008 to great acclaim, including "A Christmas Tale," "The Class," and "I've Loved You So Long." This film is every bit as good - a tremendously beautiful film that should be treasured. Although released in France in 2008, "Summer Hours" premiered in the U.S. in 2009, allowing it to be considered for this awards season. So far, several critics' societies (LA, Boston, and New York) have named it the best Foreign Film, and USAToday include it in their Top Ten films of the year. I hope that the film will be recognized by the Academy Awards and move beyond the art houses.

Note: French with English subtitles.

The 2008 French release 'Summer Hours' is a reflective, sensitive film that examines the interpersonal dynamics between people and possessions following the death of the family matriarch. Three siblings and there families must decide what is to be done with the many art treasures left behind by there well-to-do Mother. Most importantly what is to become of her beautiful home with it's luxurious gardens still echoing with the laughter of many shared memories of family gatherings through the years. Should the estate remain in their hands to be used as the site where future family memories can be made, or has the time come to let go of the past to look elsewhere for the comfort of hearth and home.

This beautiful film is about family relationships and the manner in which they change over time as family members form new attachments and loyalties. It is about two brothers and a sister who visit their elderly mother, Helene, in the final years of her life and how they resolve the distribution of her estate after she dies. The issue is complicated in that Helene was the favored niece, and possible lover, of a relatively famous artist and thus objects found in the estate my have art historical significance, or sentimental significance, or both. Helene's oldest son is sentimental and wishes to keep the estate intact and as a refuge for family members. His younger sister and brother have developed lives elsewhere and the value of the estate will allow them to live more secure comfortable lives. Thus a family dynamic around memories, wealth, sentimentality unfolds in a careful, sensitive, moving manner that reminds us all that life moves on and we must move with it. I found the film to be very authentic in that the issues explored were real, possibly reflected in many homes and families as they struggle to reconcile differences in values while honoring each other's choices and commitments. The film is driven by character development in a realistic setting rather than by a suspenseful or witty plot. Watching it is as if you already know the plot and you already know the characters for you have experienced them in your own life. This gives the film a warmth and intimacy that is rare.

Though I agree with the other reviewers here on Amazon, the movie is beautifully filmed and contains finely nuanced portrayals of a family at a crossroads, there's still not much of a story here, and I found my attention wondering at times. I kept waiting for more to happen. In lieu of a more complicated plot, I looked for some moral or message being conveyed to the viewer, but there's no strong point being made either. It's not difficult to relate to the situation this family finds itself in, but almost too true to life, there's no big drama here, and life continues on for the living.

Cinéma vérité? That's what 'Summer Hours' seeks to be... a carefully crafted exploration of real people's lives. But, despite the excellent acting, intriguing story and beautiful cinema-photography the problem is that the film fails to explore the reasons why the characters feel the way they do. You want to know why, but it doesn't really tell you - there's no context to their emotions. For example, a man breaks down because his family home and all that it means to him is about to be lost, but there's insufficient evidence of why this means so much to him to make you engage in his, superbly acted, reaction. And, without this it just drifts along... leaving you thinking that there's a much better film below the surface trying to get out. 'Paris', with its similarly slow, 'true to life' storyline shows just how good this type of subtle French cinema (and Juliette Binoche) can be in the hands of the right director, but 'Summer Hours' isn't much more than a languidly enjoyable example of how not to do it.