Le père de mes enfants (2009)

Directed by: Mia Hansen-Løve | 110 minutes | drama | Actors: Louis-Do de Lencquesaing, Chiara Caselli, Alice de Lencquesaing, Alice Gautier, Manelle Driss, Eric Elmosnino, Sandrine Dumas, Dominique Frot, Antoine Mathieu, Igor Hansen-Løve, Elsa Pharaon, Olivia Ross, Jamshed Usmonov, Cori Shim, Yejin Kim, Philippe Paimblanc

You have movie awards and you have movie awards. The French drama ‘Le père de mes enfants’ won a prize that really matters at Cannes: the special jury prize for the Un Certain Regard section. That creates expectations.

‘Le père de mes enfants’ consists of two parts. In the first part we see how film producer Grégoire is in danger of going under because of his film producer’s sores. Unfortunately, this part lacks dramatic impact and credibility. You never get the idea that Grégoire is under disruptive pressure. Though he’s on the phone all the time, his gaze is never all the way in. Also, family life hardly suffers from the stress, a cheerful family life in which Grégoire participates fully. There does not seem to be a destructive psychic maelstrom, as in the brilliant ‘L’adversaire’.

In the second part, the family members try to come to terms with Grégoire’s breakdown. This part is also not entirely convincing. The film turns into a contemplative processing drama, comparable to ‘Caos calmo’, ‘Genova’ or ‘La stanza del figlio’. Like those films, ‘Le pere de mes enfants’ avoids ostentatious sentimentalism. But where in the aforementioned dramas the pain always breaks through the surface, ‘Le père de mes enfants’ remains equanimious, almost superficial. It could be that director/screenwriter Mia Hansen-Løve (29) has too little life experience to penetrate this complex matter. Otherwise the film would never end with the far too cheerful ‘Que sera sera’.

Despite these minuses, ‘Le père de mes enfants’ is still worth a cinema ticket. You learn something about the profession of film producer and despite the lack of depth you still feel for that sweet family. Cinematically, ‘Le père de mes enfants’ is also worthwhile. The static imagery, the slow tempo and the largely lack of music contribute to a pleasantly tranquil atmosphere. And then there’s the acting, especially of the child actors, but also of an almost unrecognizable Dominique Frot.

This makes ‘Le père de mes enfants’ a pleasantly looking away film that does not quite live up to expectations. A nice movie, which could have been a great movie.