Père et fils (2003)

Père et fils is a French film comedy-drama first released in 2003, directed by Michel Boujenah.  The film stars Philippe Noiret, Charles Berling, Bruno Putzulu, Pascal Elbé and Marie Tifo.  It has also been released under the title: Father and Sons.  Our overall rating for this film is: good.


On his 70th birthday, widower Léo attempts to reunite his three sons after years of estrangement.  David is a successful businessman, employing his younger brother Simon in a low skill job.  Max, the middle brother, is an unemployed good for nothing who just cannot get on with David.  When the birthday party proves to be a disaster, Léo resorts to subterfuge to achieve his aims.  He lets slip that he is shortly to undergo major surgery to save his life and that this could be the last chance for his brothers to bury their hatchets before they bury him.  The three sons agree to accompany Léo on a holiday in Quebec to look for whales...

Michel Boujenah is yet another established high-profile French actor to have turned his hand to film directing fairly late in his career.  This, his first work, is an amiable mix of road movie and French comedy-drama centred on that perennial favourite, the dysfunctional family.  Generally, it’s an entertaining piece, albeit a tad too predictable and simplistic in parts.  The film benefits most from its strong cast, which is headed by the incomparable Philippe Noiret (an actor with a rare talent for making any character he plays sympathetic and interesting).  Pascal Elbé both stars in the film (as one of the sons) and co-authored the script.  Charles Berling needs no introduction, but both Pascal Elbé and Bruno Putzulu deserve to be better known; all three actors play off against each other to great effect, and each individually brings depth and humanity to what might otherwise have been a pretty superficial film. All in all, a promising début for a new director.

© James Travers 2005

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