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A warm, bittersweet comedy The Grocer s Son markets the feature debut of acclaimed documentary filmmaker Eric Guirado, and new acting talent Nicolas Cazale. Thirty-year-old Antoine leaves Paris and reluctantly returns to the south of France to look after the family mobile grocery van while his father recovers from a heart attack. He gradually warms to his experience in the hills and his encounters with the villagers and love for the countryside. Evocatively capturing the bucolic beauty of provincial France, this gentle feel-good charmer sparkles with quirky humour and joie de vivre and guarantees to warm hearts with its classic story of a man finally coming of age.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
106 of 108 people found the following review helpful
By P. J. Salisbury
VINE™ VOICE
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Sulky, indifferent, wayward, son Antoine reluctantly agrees to run his sick father's grocery business. Elder son Francois is far too busy trying to make good in his hairdressing salon and feels he's done enough already. Antoine is accompanied to the south of France by a neighbour, Claire, under the pretext that she would find it easier to study in the countryside, rather than in the hustle and bustle of Paris.
Antoine's utter ineptitude and inability to relate to the elderly, rustic clientele prompts Claire to develop an interest in the travelling grocery side of the business. Meanwhile, the story fairly crackles with the dialogue of family dysfunction, batting back and forth between the characters like a mountain thunder storm. Claire is a hapless by-stander as the grocer's wife does her best to retain her dignity, while the men snipe at each other.
By contrast the scenery is stunning, showing the beauty of this mountainous region of France. The aging customers served by The Van are full of life, humour, vigour and eccentricity, and there are many well-observed and humorous moments.
A `will they, won't they' theme develops between Antoine and Claire. It is tantalisingly drawn out across most of the film, adding suspense to the other tensions and frictions between expertly portrayed characters. The inept and gruff male characters are mercilessly harangued and tripped by the female characters in an attempt to make them see sense and change their views of life and relationships. Will it ever dawn on the father and his sons that the reason they have trouble with other people is their own stubborn fault?
A delightful, sweet, compelling drama. You can not fail to be delighted.
Antoine's utter ineptitude and inability to relate to the elderly, rustic clientele prompts Claire to develop an interest in the travelling grocery side of the business. Meanwhile, the story fairly crackles with the dialogue of family dysfunction, batting back and forth between the characters like a mountain thunder storm. Claire is a hapless by-stander as the grocer's wife does her best to retain her dignity, while the men snipe at each other.
By contrast the scenery is stunning, showing the beauty of this mountainous region of France. The aging customers served by The Van are full of life, humour, vigour and eccentricity, and there are many well-observed and humorous moments.
A `will they, won't they' theme develops between Antoine and Claire. It is tantalisingly drawn out across most of the film, adding suspense to the other tensions and frictions between expertly portrayed characters. The inept and gruff male characters are mercilessly harangued and tripped by the female characters in an attempt to make them see sense and change their views of life and relationships. Will it ever dawn on the father and his sons that the reason they have trouble with other people is their own stubborn fault?
A delightful, sweet, compelling drama. You can not fail to be delighted.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
One can't help feeling that one wants to give the son a big kick up the backside. He is trying to help his family after having turned his back on them when he was younger but he is just impossible. The girl evokes one's sympathy because she tries to help but is unappreciated and eventually leaves. As time passes, the son slowly gets thte hang of what life is really all about - you have to start thinking of others and put into the kitty before you can take out!
34 of 39 people found the following review helpful
By Joyeuse
VINE™ VOICE
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought this DVD on the strength of the product blurb and other reviews but I have to say I was disappointed. Only in the last ten minutes did it take a rather implausible upturn and then only because it was such a relief that the lead character showed some signs of coming out of full sulk-mode. Except for the mother the family would not have been out of place in an English soap for general unpleasantness and as for the "hero" - he seemed to be prolonging small-boy tantrums and adolescent surliness into early middle age.
The scenery is beautiful and if you want to be reminded of the sunshine in the middle of an English winter it would fill the bill but not if you want a film with characters in whom the milk of human kindness remains uncurdled.
I will watch it again in the hope of finding some redeeming features which were not apparent on first viewing but I have the feeling that the central character will leave me with the same sense of irritation as before.
The scenery is beautiful and if you want to be reminded of the sunshine in the middle of an English winter it would fill the bill but not if you want a film with characters in whom the milk of human kindness remains uncurdled.
I will watch it again in the hope of finding some redeeming features which were not apparent on first viewing but I have the feeling that the central character will leave me with the same sense of irritation as before.
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4.4 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Random
Typical random film that only the French could produce. A rambling tale of a young man returning to his village to assist the family grocery business and all that ensued. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Pam Morris
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great
Watched this film a few weeks ago and thought it was very well done, wonderful french countryside, France at it best.
Published 5 months ago by Ros
3.0 out of 5 stars
lives on in the mind up to a point
Having watched this film yesterday, I would say it goes on 'vibrating' in the mind, and has many good things, although in the end it falls slightly short. Read more
Published 14 months ago by schumann_bg
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Grocer's Son
I feel I must watch this film again. It was a pleasant, gentle film and did not require much concentration, therefore I think my mind might have wandered. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Mrs. A. Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars
Visual splendor
A very familiar theme set in a glorious landscape, with humour and kindness. The story is unoriginal, but who cares, the scenery and feel good factor more than make up for that. Read more
Published 18 months ago by G. Robinson
2.0 out of 5 stars
No story but beautifully filmed
There really is no story to this film . It's pleasant enough but never really goes anywhere. Certainly a Sunday afternoon film.
Published 19 months ago by Nelly
4.0 out of 5 stars
Petits pois -- extra fins
A beautiful film--good story, excellent cast and superb setting. Lead actor, Nicolas Cazale, won a French Oscar (Cesar) nomination and the film and cast garnered several festival... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Blue in Washington
5.0 out of 5 stars
Heartwarming story
The story line of an estranged son going home to look afetr his father's mobile grocery business may seem a little formulaic but stick with it because the filming is excellent with... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Mr. D. J. Linnell
4.0 out of 5 stars
Anthem For A Doomed Way Of Life
Unlike a lot of French films this one is not about a wealthy bourgeois with a tangled love life who works in Paris. Read more
Published on 14 May 2011 by Charles Vasey
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great movie
It's one of my favorite french movie.
The actors are great and the story is very good. It's the story of a man who learns to become an adult, it's talking about family, love,... Read more
The actors are great and the story is very good. It's the story of a man who learns to become an adult, it's talking about family, love,... Read more
Published on 8 April 2011 by Anaïs
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