Daddy Nostalgia (1990)

The setting is the Riviera in autumn. A retired English businessman (Sir Dirk Bogarde) has just been through heart surgery, but it has, apparently, done little to relieve his constant pain ... See full summary »

Director:

Bertrand Tavernier

Writers:

Colo Tavernier (story) (as Colo Tavernier O'Hagan), Colo Tavernier (dialogue) (as Colo Tavernier O'Hagan)

Stars:

Dirk Bogarde, Jane Birkin, Odette Laure

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Dirk Bogarde	...	Daddy
Jane Birkin	...	Caroline
Odette Laure	...	Miche
Emmanuelle Bataille	...	Juliette
Charlotte Kady	...	Barbara
Michele Minns	...	Caroline, as a child
Sophie Dalezio	...	Nurse #1
Sylvie Segalas	...	Nurse #2
Hélène Lefumat	...	Dame Hopital
Andrée Duranson	...	Yvonne
Raymond Defendente	...	Jimmy
Fabrice Roux	...	Fisherman
Gilbert Guerrero	...	Garcon Restaurant
Louis Ducreux	...	Mr. Metro

Storyline

The setting is the Riviera in autumn. A retired English businessman (Sir Dirk Bogarde) has just been through heart surgery, but it has, apparently, done little to relieve his constant pain or improve his long-term survival prospects. During his recuperation, Caroline (Jane Birkin), his adult daughter, comes from Paris to be with him and her mother, Miche (Odette Laure), and she and her father begin to communicate as adults for the first time.

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Plot Keywords:

english | french riviera | father daughter relationship | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French English

Release Date:

May 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Daddy Nostalgia

Filming Locations:

France

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$14,252, 14 April 1991

Gross USA:

$1,108,429

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,108,429

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cléa Productions, Eurisma, Little Bear

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was Sir Dirk Bogarde's final acting role before his death on May 8, 1999, at the age of seventy-eight.

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Crazy Credits

As the final song is "These Foolish Things" is heard, on the line "a cigarette that bears a lipstick's traces" the screen slowly fades to black and the words "À Michael Powell" scroll up the screen. 'Michael Powell' was a friend of and had worked with Tavernier and had recently died of cancer.

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Connections

Featured in Dirk Bogarde: By Myself (1992)

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Soundtracks

These Foolish Things
Written by Harry Link, Eric Maschwitz, Jack Strachey
Performed by Jane Birkin and Jimmy Rowles

User Reviews

Sunny tale of life ending

Dirk Bogarde is wonderful in his last film. Everything we remember from the past is here: the laconic smile, the raised eyebrow that seems to say Oh, really?, the perfect timing. Add to these the lassitude that comes to those whose hearts are functioning far below standard--the story starts just after his heart surgery. Jane Birkin is playing a character for once whose life is not a caricature, as it was in too many of her films--you don't remember the Gainsbourg years when you see her here. Odette Laure as the mother is new to me, but she plays very well indeed; she is the watchful manager of her husband's declining resources.

The use of flashbacks slows the film down, makes it less tense, but that is a minor cavil. The final scenes, with the exasperation of the beginning gone, are terribly poignant: the setting sun remark from Caroline, Daddy's comments on the management of pain as they stand in the garden, then the discussion of love in the car. Here the cinema goes as far as it can in expressing regret and acceptance.