La gloire de mon père (1990)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Yves Robert

Writers:

Louis Nucéra (writer)
Marcel Pagnol (novel)

Release Date:

August 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Plot:

A young boy's life in turn-of-the-century France. Marcel, witnesses the success of his teacher father...

Plot Keywords:

Boy | Provence | Hill | Summer Vacation | Cottage

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Philippe Caubère	...	Joseph Pagnol
Nathalie Roussel	...	Augustine
Didier Pain	...	Oncle jules
Thérèse Liotard	...	Tante rose
Julien Ciamaca	...	Marcel à 11 ans
Victorien Delamare	...	Paul
Joris Molinas	...	Lili des Bellons
Benoît Martin	...	Marcel petit
Paul Crauchet	...	Mond des Parpaillouns
Pierre Maguelon	...	François
Michel Modo	...	le facteur
Jean Rougerie	...	Bergougnas, le brocanteur
Jean-Pierre Darras	...	Récitant (La voix de Marcel) / Narrator (voice)
Victor Garrivier	...	le curé de la Treille
Raoul Curet	...	Monsieur Vincent

Also Known As:

My Father's Glory

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Finland:S (2004) | Iceland:L | South Korea:All | Australia:G | France:U | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | USA:G

Filming Locations:

Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône, France

Company:

Gaumont

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: On the family's holiday, each time that it is raining the sky is bright and without a cloud (except the scene with the storm).

Quotes:

Augustine: You need your gun to go shopping?
Joseph Pagnol: You never know.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Troldspejlet: (#34.6)" (2005)

Don't Forget The Companion Piece

This, like "Jean de Florette" and "Manon Of The Spring" is the first of two French films that go together. The second part of this story is the film, "My Mother's Castle." See them both, but if you can only see one, my recommendation is "My Mother's Castle."

As in many French films, this offers very little action and not much that is noteworthy but is filled with interesting characters and excellent storytelling. The French still offer that great storytelling, something that has slowly faded among filmmakers in other countries.

This story is based on the memoirs of Marcel Pagnol, a very Liberal educator and atheist. His views are probably the main reason critics all loved this movie. They could identify.

Despite the father's shortcomings, there is a nice appeal here as all the characters are interesting to varying degrees. I love the way they all express themselves, certainly different than we do here in North America. As with most of these French stories, there is very little profanity, too.