His father, also a grouch by nature, had a softness under his rough exterior. Yet when his father comes home from the hospital, old grievances — between Antoine and his father, between his father and François and François and Antoine — flare up.
While Antoine and Claire make tentative steps toward a relationship, the real romance here is with the French countryside of Provence — and yet the economic woes of a small business against larger businesses and the problems of old age are not glossed over. Loose strings are left untied. If you're looking for closure or some climatic realization, Guirado and Vignon have not provided it.
Instead, we have what seem to be real people, living real lives and speaking or not speaking. The dialog isn't witty or snappy or clever. Yet as the relationship between the principals evolve, gradually, we do see hope and a kind of happiness, the kind that can really come to real lives in a way that seems more real than reality TV.
Article comments
1 - Jen
So cool to see this film reviewed here as I'm a huge fan of the Film Movement series (believe I've reviewed more than 40 of their films). Needless to say, I'm so thrilled you sought it out!
I believe it's their next DVD-of-the-month selection over at their website filmmovement.com. The Grocer's Son was excellent-- understated and subtle. It kind of reminded me of classic Rohmer and it was one of those gentle "people movers" you'll definitely want to share with others. Loved the scene involving the two painting the van-- so spontaneous and beautiful!
If you check out the press notes at the Film Movement website, there's a cool interview with the filmmaker wherein you'll discover the director based the film on the lives of real traveling grocers he met in the south of France.
2 - Purple Tigress
I had read that the filmmaker filmed real traveling grocers. I believe that's why one critic called a documentary-like film.
I thought there was a time when filmmakers did just that, instead of falling back on CGI and superstars.
I didn't want to give away too much of the plot because I hope that people will be surprised at the small revelations.
I look forward to see more films by this filmmaker.
3 - Jen
Good call-- it's always nice to see a different approach to moviemaking than "CGI and superstars"! :)