Summary
Three sisters are reunited with their parents at their home on the Brittany coast.
Their brother Patrick has died tragically and they must somehow come to terms with the
loss. Anne, the eldest of the three girls, fights to hold back her own emotions
as she comforts her younger sisters. Isabelle, the most rebellious of the sisters,
hasn’t been near the family home for eight years, and is filled with resentment after
what life has done to her. The youngest sister, Claude, is the twin of the dead
adolescent, and so her loss is greatest. Whilst the sisters share their grief, their
father withdraws into silent meditation, leaving their mother to slip further into ill
health and insanity. Then the circumstances of Patrick’s death are revealed...
Review
Relentlessly sombre and charged with pent-up emotion, Tumultes is a modest Franco-Belgian
production offering a respectable portrayal of loss and bereavement. The skilfully
sober direction, understated performances and narrative economy make watching this film
a poignant meditative experience. The film’s main selling point is Yves Angelo’s
stunning photography of the Brittany setting, which perfectly complements the drama and
cannot help but evoke in the spectator an aching sense of empathy with the film’s protagonists.
A simple film, but one that is surprisingly effective.
© James Travers 2004
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© James Travers 2004
Write a review for this film...
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Useful links
- Best French films of 2011
- Best French films of the 2000s
- Best of the French New Wave
- Best of French film comedy
- The best 100 French films
- The most successful French films
- Great French filmmakers
Related links
- The best French dramas
- Other French films of the 1990s
- The best French films of the 1990s
- Other French dramas
- Biography and films of Bertrand Van Effenterre
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Credits
- Director: Bertrand Van Effenterre
- Script: Claire Alexandrakis, Bertrand Van Effenterre
- Photo: Yves Angelo
- Music: Luigi Cherubini
- Cast: Bruno Cremer (The Father), Nelly Borgeaud (The Mother), Julie Jézéquel (Anne), Clotilde de Bayser (Isabelle), Laure Marsac (Claude), Jean-Pierre Moulin (Le curé), Jean-Paul Comart (Yves), Christian Cloarec (Pierre), Jean-Michel Portal (Bruno), Guy Abgrall (Robin)
- Country: France / Belgium
- Language: French
- Runtime: 91 min
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Drama






