Un dimanche à la campagne (1984)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Bertrand Tavernier

Writers:

Pierre Bost (novel)
Bertrand Tavernier (writer)

Release Date:

11 April 1984 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

In France, before WWI. As every Sunday, an old painter living in the country is visited by his son Gonzague...

Plot Keywords:

Painter | Little Girl | Visit | Father Daughter Relationship | Period Piece

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 12 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Louis Ducreux	...	Monsieur Ladmiral
Michel Aumont	...	Gonzague
Sabine Azéma	...	Irène (as Sabine Azema)
Geneviève Mnich	...	Marie-Thérèse (as Genevieve Mnich)
Monique Chaumette	...	Mercédès
Thomas Duval	...	Emile
Quentin Ogier	...	Lucien
Katia Wostrikoff	...	Mireille
Claude Winter	...	Madame Ladmiral
Jean-Roger Milo	...	Fisherman (Le pêcheur)
Pascale Vignal	...	A servant (La serveuse)
Jacques Poitrenaud	...	Hector (Patron guinguette)
Valentine Suard	...	Little girl (La petite fille 1)
Erika Faivre	...	Little girl (La petite fille 2)
Marc Perrone	...	Accordionist (L'accordéoniste)

Also Known As:

A Sunday in the Country

Runtime:

90 min | Sweden:95 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:G | Argentina:Atp | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | UK:PG | USA:G | West Germany:6

Company:

Films A2

Soundtrack:

Trio pour piano et cordes Op. 120

A painterly portrait of an aging painter and his family

In pre-WWI France Monsieur Ladmiral prepares for the day in his large country house near Paris. It is Sunday, the day his son Gonzague and family frequently visit him. Gonzague arrives by train with his wife and three children - two young sons and a daughter. Monsieur Ladmiral walks to the station to meet them. Well actually he only makes it about half way there when he meets the family walking toward his house. Thus we are introduced to one of the themes - how Ladmiral deals with getting older (in this case by denying that he can't walk as fast as he used to).

On this particular Sunday Ladmiral is also treated to a rare visit by his daughter Irène. She arrives by car and her breezy, outgoing personality dominates. The children take to her, but the reactions of the rest of the family are much more complex. Gonzague has been the dutiful son who has done what was expected of him while Irène is clearly a bit of a free spirit. But equally as clear is that Ladmiral favors his daughter for her determination to live life on her own terms and is disappointed that his son has not been more aggressive.

It is amazing how much we come to understand the dynamics of this family from observing them during this one day. Typical of the hints we get is Gonzague's comment, in response to the excitement over Irène's car, that "I had children and not a car." By the end you feel that you can extrapolate backward in time to the essential history of this family.

Particularly poignant are the musing of the old man himself. He has been a painter of some repute and respect, but feels perhaps that he took too modest a path in his work, that he could have been more experimental and made more significant contributions. Is he wishing that he had been more like Irène than Gonzague, and that is why he fancies his daughter?

The pacing is slow and the filming is lush. You are left with a certain wistfulness. This may evoke memories to visits to your own grandparents.

The focus in on the personalities and the undercurrents of conflicted feelings that exist in all families.