Le fils de l’épicier (2007)

Directed by: Eric Guirado | 96 minutes | drama | Actors: Nicolas Cazalé, Clotilde Hesme, Jeanne Goupil, Daniel Duval, Stéphan Guérin-Tillié, Liliane Rovère, Paul Crauchet, Chad Chenouga, Benoît Giros, Ludmila Ruoso, Robert Court, Jemmy Walker

‘Le fils de l’épicier’ is almost an ode to life in the French countryside. Beautiful landscapes and village images from Provence are regularly featured. Highly recommended for Francophiles.

The story of ‘Le fils de l’épicier’ is relatively small and uncomplicated, without being too light-hearted. A grocer’s son returns to his native village. The reason is his father’s heart attack. Due to his illness, he is unable to operate his grocery store with a moving SRV vehicle. Antoine has always had a difficult relationship with his father and has fled his family and hometown for work in the big city (Lyon). He certainly did not become the successful man there, he has all kinds of small temporary jobs and lives in a very messy apartment. He goes to the hospital and meets his mother and brother there. The problem of the difficult relationship with his father is obvious, he does not enter the room where his father is lying.

Nevertheless, partly under pressure from his brother, who reproaches him for always pressing for problems and leaving them all to him, he promises to temporarily help his mother run the store. He takes his neighbor Claire (Clothilde Hesme) with him, who thinks she can prepare well for exams in the countryside. Their friendship is purely platonic, but secretly he is fond of her. Antoine is surly and not very customer-friendly when he drives around the customers in the SRV car. He charges 5 euros for a prayer in the church at the request of a customer. Surely he doesn’t do stuff like that for nothing? However, Claire has an innate flair for interacting with people and later accompanies him on his rides. This effect is beneficial, Antoine comes to his senses and slowly begins to recognize and recognize his customers as real people. He sees that he is not only a supplier of daily necessities, but that he also fulfills an important other, human role in these isolated communities where many elderly people live.

The director has deftly avoided the trap and made it all a bit too jovial. The human problem remains sufficiently intact to give the story sufficient body. It is of course not surprising that romance will eventually play a role in this story. In that sense, the screenplay follows somewhat familiar paths, the film buff knows what to expect.

Nicolas Calazé plays convincingly as Antoine and the interpretation of the role of Claire by Clothilde Hesme is also infectious. Father (Daniel Duval), mother (Jeanne Goupil) and brother (Stéphan Guérin Tillié), who has his own problems with his wife who has left him, act appropriately. A special role is reserved for the villagers and local ‘actors’ who, with their enthusiastic input, give color and ambiance to the story. A film in which the main character learns to give people again. ‘Le fils de l’épicier’ is both a great summer evening film and a warm-feeling feel-good movie. Relive your holiday in the French countryside through the beautiful images and the beautiful heads of the local characters.