Originally written for Daily-Reviews www.daily-reviews.com A review by Phil Hall
"La Buche" ** (out of 5 stars)
Directed by Daniele Thompson, produced by Alain Sarde, written by Daniele Thompson and Christopher Thompson, music by Michel Legrand, cinematography by Robert Fraisse
Starring Sabine Azema, Emmanuelle Beart, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Claude Rich
1999. Not rated. In French with English subtitles. 104 minutes. Wellspring Media (DVD and VHS)
Give French filmmaker Daniele Thompson credit for trying to do something different with "La Buche," a cynical comedy about a dysfunctional family's rocky reunion over Christmas. Whereas too many holiday films lay on the sugar at lethal levels, "La Buche" is the rare Christmas film that adds a surplus of lemon and vinegar to the yuletide mix. While this acidic approach may appeal to the cineaste who'd love to deck the next guy singing "Deck the Halls," it nonetheless will be a turnoff for those who prefer holiday stories to be something less than sour.
"La Buche" begins at a funeral, oddly enough, where Yvette is burying her second husband at a Paris cemetery. Yvette is joined by the three adult daughters from her first marriage, which ended 25 years earlier. The daughters agree to console their suddenly widowed mother at their annual Christmas gathering, but this creates an awkward situation as their father has also been invited and the divorced parents have not spoken since their marriage was dissolved.
The main problem with "La Buche" is that it is a Christmas film where none of the characters actually seem to enjoy the holiday. In fact, the characters spend a high level of time mocking the season and recalling unpleasant memories from Christmases past. Even the filmmaker has a curious take on the season, sprinkling the film with up-tempo American Christmas tunes that seem wildly out of place with the coldly sophisticated Parisian settings (and perhaps suggesting the traditional French concept of a Joyeux Noel has been corrupted by the American consumer version).
Further aggravating the situation is the fact "La Buche" is populated with completely unlikeable characters. Some American critics compared this film to "Hannah and Her Sisters" because each film has a trio of adult daughters. Yet "La Buche" totally lacks the warmth and wit of the Woody Allen classic, offering instead a trio of indifferent, strangely selfish and brittle women who seem annoyed at everyone (including themselves). The estranged parents are equally annoying and are too frequently immature in their long-simmering hatreds, giving a lie to the notion that people grow wiser as they grow older.
Does this sound like fun? Of course not. The only purpose "La Buche" could serve during the Christmas season is to be placed on the yule log to keep the holiday fireplace glowing brightly.
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