This film came just before one of his masterpieces, ' Wild Reeds ' and it was no doubt more appealing to audiences at the time of its appearance than some of his previous films. It deals with the ' family ' which is sacrosanct to the French, as it is not transgressive in itself and is endorsed by church and state. This of course applies to many other countries, but the French have arguably made more films about family structures than elsewhere. However Techine does effectively show the indifference of younger members towards their family elders, and how even among the younger ones there are hostilities and many bitter resentments. Ultimately we are all alone, and Techine knows this fully well and in this film shows it painfully and often cruelly. Basically it is about a woman and her husband, her relationship with her children ( one adopted ) and with her brother with whom she has a closer relationship. A large part of the film shows how this relationship is based on fantasies created in childhood, and maybe as some have observed there are hints of incest especially on the brother's side. The other large part is the relationship with the brother and sister's mother, played toughly and painfully by Marthe Villalonga. She is old and she needs care, but like a parcel she is placed in one home after another, including a care home out of hell. Without spoiling more this is all plainly filmed. It is realistic and has very little of those startling moments which I like Techine for, and at its long length of 2 hours plus it became for me tedious. Catherine Deneuve gives a good performance as the mother/sister and Daniel Auteuil equals her, but somewhere I feel the range of their usually superb acting is not stretched enough. The other actors, including Marthe Villalonga also acted well, but as the whole family was annoying and somewhat painfully observed I more or less switched off. I felt the film lacked the unbearable power of such films as ' Les Innocents ' and ' J'embrasse Pas ' but that is my opinion, which I doubt will be shared. I give it an 8 because it is indisputably well made and in its subtly cruel way a good example of how ' families ' can be nests of unspoken dislike and often outright war.
Review of My Favorite Season
