Farewell, Home Sweet Home (1999)

Nicholas is the eldest son of a wealthy suburban family, whose businesswoman mother makes deals from a helicopter and has an affair with her business partner. His cheerful, alcoholic father... See full summary »

Director:

Otar Iosseliani

Writer:

Otar Iosseliani (scenario)

Stars:

Niko Tarielashvili, Lily Lavina, Philippe Bas

4 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Niko Tarielashvili	...	Son (as Nico Tarielashvili)
Lily Lavina	...	Mother
Philippe Bas	...	Moto driver
Stephanie Hainque	...	Girl at bar
Mirabelle Kirkland	...	Maid
Amiran Amiranashvili	...	Hobo
Joachim Salinger	...	Beggar
Emmanuel de Chauvigny	...	Lover
Otar Iosseliani	...	Father
Narda Blanchet	...	Old lady
Yannick Carpentier	...	Serveur
Vincent Darasse
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mathieu Amalric	...	A drinker at bar
Viviane Bonelli
Viviane Bourguinet

Storyline

Nicholas is the eldest son of a wealthy suburban family, whose businesswoman mother makes deals from a helicopter and has an affair with her business partner. His cheerful, alcoholic father, on the other hand, is reduced to a prisoner in his room with his devoted dog and electric train set. Unbeknownst to his parents, Nicholas works as a window cleaner and dish washer in a Parisian cafe. He is also in love with the daughter of another cafe's owner, who, however, has an abusive boyfriend. One night, Nicholas sneaks a few drunken drifters into his family wine cellar and his father unexpectedly takes a liking to the stranger.

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Plot Keywords:

cafe | businesswoman | train | dog | alcoholic | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Did You Know?

Connections

Edited into Spisok korabley (2008)

User Reviews

Each scene is a suggestive treasure

Here indeed is film-making in its purest art form. Iosseliani has, in this film, the only one of his I have had the greatest pleasure of seeing, manages to evoke such subtle ideas in each pan, in each scene, which in themselves are miniature stories, each one a little jewel, which little by little begin to string along, creating a thread which tells the whole story. And the result is a treasure, something to value for a long time.

To call this film a comedy, is almost an insult: it is far too subtle for such simplistic definition. Here is wit, which is not just for easy laughs; here is wit in its subtlest form, such as the British sense of humour in the fifties and early sixties of the past century. Here is the voice of a visionary who creates unforgettable tid-bits, visual savouries, such that each scene in itself is a suggestive, evokeful treasure, combining to thread together an intelligent story for intelligent viewers. No, one should not try to compare Iosseliani with Almodóvar or Lynch, perhaps a slight influence or comparison with Fellini at times, because the concepts of how to exhibit subtle nuances of wit in exquisite expressiveness, very often with hardly any dialogue, belong to another sphere.

The presence of a great bird, similar to a pelican, as well as the two dogs - a Labrador puppy, and a short-legged variant of the Border Collie, affords that emblematic and enigmatic delicate touch which helps this film to be something else: it is not comical and it is not laughable; this film is cinematography as art.

My vote is much higher than the present average shown in IMDb.

Details

Country:

France Switzerland Italy

Language:

French

Release Date:

12 November 1999 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Farewell, Home Sweet Home

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pierre Grise Productions, Carac Films, Alia Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1