Father of My Children [DVD] [2009]

I saw this when it came out to a very limited theatrical release in the UK back in March - it's a shame it wasn't seen by more people.
It's a touching drama, that's so poignant it stays with you long after the credits roll. The writer/director Mia Hansen-Love delivers a stunning film, which is loosely based on a real story examining the central aspect of family love. Without spoiling the story, it's heartbreaking stuff and a unique cinematic experience. It's French drama at it's best and one you should not miss. Hopefully there's more to come from this very talented director.

Mia Hansen-Love has been an actress but preferred to direct film.So to the man this film is about,the legendary Humbert Balsan,had acted in Bresson and had small roles in other films,prior to turning to film producing.He had famously produced Lars von Trier and Clair Denis,directors for the festival circuit,unprofitable in the mainsteam.He was responsible for the production of 70 films before his death in 2005.He had also nurtured hopes of producing this director's first film.This film is a homage to him,the father of many film children,illegitimate offspring of his love.Father of my children is a film of two halves,also it's a film about art and life.Gregoire Canvel (de Lencquesaing) is happily married with 3 beautiful daughters and a loving wife(Caselli).He lives however totally for his work as a film producer.Yet he's constantly on the phone,wheeling and dealing,running in front of a black cloud of spiralling debt-too many projects,too many risks,too many egos sucking him dry,especially the Swedish film auteur,Stig.He juggles this with time with his family in the country at weekends or on holiday in Ravelli.Louis-Do's own daughter(Alice) acts as his daughter in the film.Hansen-Love's own brother acts as a budding young director in this too.Gregoire ploughs on at all costs using up his currency of charm until he is finally forced to confront the reality of the situation.There is a crisis which I wont reveal and the film's 2nd half concentrates on the wife and 3 daughters.This film is about the ghosts of cinema,the after-life of what people leave behind.The acting and film direction is beautifully observed and naturalistic, with moments of beautiful stillness and relaxation and a fluidity of interaction between people,an award-winning drama which opens like a plant unfolding, boding well for Hansen-Love's future film career.There is an extra of her being interviewed which gives a useful insight in what she tries to achieve with actors.

French films often have an unreal quality about them as their upper middle class heroes and heroines struggle with First World Problems. This is pretty much how the first part of the film shapes up as the story builds a picture of an idyllic life with problems no larger than a man's hand on the horizon. Then - whack - a sucker punch flattens the viewer and you plunge into a different world. This is very well observed but please do not watch this film if you are going into or through a depressive period. The matter that changes the course of the film is one with which I deal in my professional career; the film has got it just right; the confusion, the feeling of loss of control, the false hope. It is in this respect (and no other) a horrible film.