Tous les soleils (2011)
Directed by Philippe Claudel

Film Review

A successful first film invariably presents a challenge to any new filmmaker, and expectations were certainly high for Philippe Claudel after his internationally acclaimed debut feature Il y a longtemps que je t'aime (2008).  Claudel's attempt to follow his beautifully contemplative first film with something a little cheerier, in the Italian comedy line, was certainly a brave move, but lacking both a strong narrative vision and established French actors in the lead roles, Tous les soleils suffers from comparison with its author's previous film and his string of successful literary novels.  Whilst Claudel's penchant for richly drawn characters is as evident as ever, his screenplay lacks cohesion and sparkle, and his direction shows nothing like the inspired touch of his first film.

It was certainly daring of Claudel to cast the virtually unknown Italian actor Stefano Accorsi in the lead role, but whilst Accorsi undoubtedly has talent, his failure to create a sympathetic, convincing character immediately weakens the spectator's interest in the film.   Neri Marcorè is a far more engaging proposition, endlessly amusing as the anarchist painter who refuses to part with his paintings for political reasons (he is a staunch anti-capitalist).  Had this been a classic Italian comedy, Accorsi and Marcorè would assuredly have made it something special, but saddled with Claudel's attempts to give it a little more in the way of depth and meaning result in it being merely a cumbersome half-way-house, uncertain whether it wants to be a serious character-centric drama or a frivolous comedy.  Tous les soleils is not without charm, nor do the performances fail to impress, but it feels like a massive come-down after Claudel's impressive debut film.

Film Synopsis

After leaving his native Italy, 40-something Alessandro has settled in the French city of Strasbourg, where he teaches Baroque music.  He shares his modest apartment with his 15-year-old daughter Irina and his parasitic older brother Luigi.  Alessandro hasn't yet come to terms with the premature death of his wife, and consequently he finds it nigh on impossible to form new relationships with other women.  In any event, he is too preoccupied with his daughter and his brother to have the time and the stamina to go chasing after romance.  Having to cope with Irina's teenage tantrums is bad enough, but Luigi's wildly anarchistic protestations are becoming unbearable.

Luigi has come to regard himself as a political asylum seeker in France after that fiend in barely human form, Silvio Berlusconi, became Prime Minister of his country.  An artist by trade, Luigi refuses to sell any of his paintings because he resents being exploited by the bourgeois capitalist system.  As a result, he is forced to sponge off his brother, who is evidently less bothered about things such as political idealism.  Alessandro's strained relationship with his attention-seeking daughter and self-righteous slob of a brother continues to deteriorate - and then he meets Florence.  She is exactly the kind of women he is attracted to, but he is hesitant about going after her.  It turns out that Florence is the just the treatment Alessandro needs to get him out of his present impasse...