Product Details

• Actors: Nicolas Cazale, Clotilde Hesme, Jeanne Goupil, Daniel Duval, Liliane Rovere
• Directors: Eric Guirado
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Language: French
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Film Movement
• DVD Release Date: January 6, 2009
• Run Time: 96 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001AZJKKK
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #50,846 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "The Grocer's Son" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Review

Triumphant! [A] Gem of a film! --By STEPHEN HOLDEN, New York Times

Seductive... Irresistible... Remarkable throughout! --By RONNIE SCHEIB, Variety

The Grocer's Son is an unalloyed pleasure, start to finish! --By JIM VAN MAANEN, Green Cine

Product Description

It is summer, and thirty-year-old Antoine is forced to leave the city to return to his family in Provence. His father is sick, so he must assume the lifestyle he thought he had shed driving the family grocery cart from hamlet to hamlet, delivering supplies to the few remaining inhabitants. Accompanied by Claire, a friend from Paris whom he has a secret crush on, Antoine gradually warms up to his experience in the country and his encounters with the villagers, who initially seem stubborn and gruff, but ultimately prove to be funny and endearing. Ultimately, this surprise French box-office hit is about the coming-of-age of a man re-discovering life and love in the countryside.

See all Editorial Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 59 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Alimentation Generale: Épicier Volante! July 31, 2008

By Grady Harp HALL OF FAMETOP 50 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

Le Fils de l'épicier (The Grocer's Son) is one of the loveliest films of the year. Written (with Florence Vignon) and directed by Eric Guirado, this little taste of French life is as refreshing as the fruits and vegetables on the traveling grocery van that is a focal point of the story. Though at first glance it appears to be a simple tale of a son begrudgingly taking over his invalid father's business, Guirado has embroidered this story with so many warm details that the film begs to be seen again and again to make sure nothing has been missed.

Antoine Sforza (the gifted and handsome young actor Nicolas Cazalé) is a thirty something young waiter, unable to find satisfaction in his various jobs he opted for when he left his home ten years ago: his relationship with his father was strained and Antoine did not care to 'waste' his life in a village as an grocer (épicier). He has a 'girlfriend' Claire (Clotilde Hesme) who is trying to save money to go to Spain to study, and when his father (Daniel Duval) is hospitalized with a heart attack, he begrudgingly agrees to return home - with the proviso that his mother lend him money that he in turn gives to Claire so that she can complete her dream of studying in Spain. Antoine's brother François (Stéphan Guérin-Tillié) owns a beauty salon and, despite the family's concept that he is the stable one, has troubles of his own. Antoine's mother (Jeanne Goupil) is desperate for help: she has managed to run the little store in the village, but a major source of income has come from the van the father drives through the countryside, selling groceries to the old folks.... Antoine is encouraged by Claire to take over the van and even helps Antoine paint the van with rainbow colors to become the 'Épicier Volante'. In time Antoine's brusque and distant personality is affected by the warmly humorous and significantly needy yet friendly old folks. He makes friends and extends himself as never before.

Claire wins her audition for Spain, the father is released form the hospital, François' life falls apart, and Antoine feels he must pay back his mother and move on. But the bonds between the changed Antoine and his family as well as his deep attachments to the old folks convince him to alter his plan for his life.

Many of the 'old folks' are cast from villagers who Guirado met while scouting for his film and these 'actors', together with some very fine character actors such as Liliane Rovère, give the film a feeling of authenticity. The scenery is gorgeous, the music is apropos, and the performances by the lead members of the cast are superb. This is a film to treasure - repeatedly. Highest Recommendation. Grady Harp, July 08 Read more ›

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A fine film! Not a single exploding car or gruesome crime! February 26, 2009

By Donald M. Bishop

Format:DVD

"The Grocer's Son" tells a quiet story. Young Antoine (Nicolas Cazale) returns from Paris to his home town in Provence to tend his parents' small store while his father recovers from a heart attack. His friend Claire (Clotilde Hasme) comes along. His parents' family business includes an old van that makes the round of local crossroads, selling groceries mostly to the elderly. So Antoine begins making the daily rounds.

The photography of the Provence countryside is wonderful. The village scenes and the elderly actors give a viewer an agreeable glimpse of another country and society. There's French languor and mood music. The film's low key and slow pace help focus on the characters and how they change in the course of the film -- as Antoine, whose life in Paris had been unsuccessful, comes back into the ties of family and community which he had once rejected.

As we see from other relationships in the film (Antoine's brother, or his high school friend who runs the local garage), though, ties that bind can also be ties that burden. Willingness to accept the burdens is an important milestone in life.

"The Grocer's Son" harks back to the story of the Prodigal Son, set in a different place and time. When so many movies feature exploding cars, robots or aliens, or stomach-turning crimes, "The Grocer's Son" provides a welcome change of pace.

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17 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best films of the year. September 1, 2008

By Ron

Format:DVD

It's been a while since I saw a French film that I really liked. I think the last one was LES VOLLEURS that starred Catherine Deneuve and Daniel Auteuil. There was a time when France used to make brilliant films, one right after the other. This was called the French New Wave that consisted of Truffaut, Goddard, Rohmer, etc. Well, I'm happy to report that THE GROCER'S SON is every bit as good as anything that came out of the French New Wave. Actually, it reminded me more of a Rohmer film: a character study. It's a very observant and perceptive film on growing up: when someone stops thinking about themselves and appreciates other people. The relationship between Antoine and Claire exemplifies this point. Antoine is clearly only thinking about himself when he decides not to mail Claire's academic papers. Eventually, he takes on life's responsibilities (he decides not to quit his job as a grocer) and starts thinking about other people (his customers). Highly recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Ode to the life slower and simpler February 6, 2011

By Paul Allaer TOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

Some months ago I discovered and have started watching the releases from the Film Movement's on-going library of foreign and indie releases and recently I picked this one up.

"The Grocer's Son" (96 min.; originally released in France in 2007) brings the tale of Antoine, whose father, the grocer, falls ill, and as a result Antoine leaves the big city (Lyon) and returns to Southern France to take over the delivery route his father did, bringing groceries in a van (at some point renamed "The Flying Grocer") to mostly elderly folks in the countryside. The movie moves slowly, and that is exactly the point, as the movie ultimately is an ode to the slower and simpler life of people in the remote country side. Along the way, Antoine fights with his family, discovers love and comes to appreciate the lifestyle on the country side that he thought he had left for good. The beautiful scenery in Southern France is as equally an important part of the movie than the actors themselves.

In all, I quite liked this movie. Nothing earth shattering, but a slice of life simpler and slower than most of us are used to. I also can't say enough about the outstanding quality of continuing releases of great foreign and indie movies by Film Movement.