Père et fils (2003)
Directed by Michel Boujenah

Film Review

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.

Film Synopsis

Léo, a retired sales rep, brings together his three sons on his 70th birthday in the hope of putting an end to years of estrangement.  David, the eldest son, runs a successful business in which he employs his younger brother Simon in a mundane job.  Max, the middle brother, has never got on with his siblings and seems happy to just drift through life.  Léo's plans for a peaceful reconciliation are dashed when his three sons come to blows in the course of his birthday party.  Resorting to subterfuge, he reveals that he has a life-threatening condition and must soon undergo major surgery.  Now that his days might be numbered, his one wish is to see his sons settle their differences.  Shocked by this revelation, David and his brothers agree to accompany their father on a whale-watching holiday in Canada.  It seems that Léo's plan may work out better than he had hoped...