Je rentre à la maison (2001)

The comfortable daily routines of aging Parisian actor Gilbert Valence, 76, are suddenly shaken when he learns that his wife, daughter, and son-in-law have been killed in a car crash. ... See full summary »

Director:

Manoel de Oliveira

Writers:

Manoel de Oliveira (scenario and dialogue), Jacques Parsi (scenario consultant: literature)

Stars:

Michel Piccoli, Catherine Deneuve, John Malkovich

5 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michel Piccoli	...	Gilbert Valence
Catherine Deneuve	...	Marguerite
John Malkovich	...	John Crawford, Film Director
Antoine Chappey	...	George
Leonor Baldaque	...	Sylvia
Leonor Silveira	...	Marie
Ricardo Trêpa	...	Guard
Jean-Michel Arnold	...	Doctor
Adrien de Van	...	Ferdinand
Sylvie Testud	...	Ariel
Isabel Ruth	...	Milkmaid
Andrew Wale	...	Stephen
Robert Dauney	...	Haines
Jean Koeltgen	...	Serge
Mauricette Gourdon	...	Guilhermine, the Housekeeper

Storyline

The comfortable daily routines of aging Parisian actor Gilbert Valence, 76, are suddenly shaken when he learns that his wife, daughter, and son-in-law have been killed in a car crash. Having to take care of his now-orphaned grandson, he struggles to go on with his lifelong acting career like he's used to. But the roles he is offered -- a flashy TV show and a hectic last-minute replacement in an English-language film of Joyce's Ulysses -- finally convince him that it's time to retire.

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Plot Keywords:

aging | actor | wallet | cleaning lady | window display | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Madragoa Films (Portuguese, English, French)

Country:

France Portugal

Language:

French English

Release Date:

12 September 2001 (France)

Also Known As:

I'm Going Home

Box Office

Budget:

FRF 18,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Madragoa Filmes,Gemini Films,France 2 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Chosen by "Les Cahiers du cinéma" (France) as one of the 10 best pictures of 2001 (#05)

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Goofs

From the 2nd to the 3rd Café scene, the headlines on both Le Figaro and Liberátion do not change, and it is supposed to be another day.

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Connections

Referenced in Faust. Der Tragödie erster Teil (2009)

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Soundtracks

Old Comrades
Written by Andrew C. Pilmer (as A. Pilmer)
KPM Music / K Musik

User Reviews

After losing wife, daughter and son-in-law in a car accident, an old actor tries to overcome his grief bringing his grandson to live with him.

It´s amazing how Manoel de Oliveira, who's 93 years old, accomplishes so much in this film using so little. The story is quite simple and there´s nothing very unusual about the characters. But the film captures the audience´s attention in a remarkable way. We get to know so much about the characters that sometimes we feel that we´re reading a book, when the author has pages and pages to tell everything about them. Michel Picoli plays a successful stage actor who, after losing wife, daughter and son-in-law in a car accident, learns to overcome his grief bringing his young grandson to live with him. Manuel de Oliveira doesn't use exciting camera angles nor spectacular takes. Everything is quite simple in his film. It's the simplicity of a master, who knows perfectly well what's he's doing. Acting is superlative. Picoli's work is on the level of the best performances of Ingmar Bergman's actors. And, of course, there's John Malkovich, with very few lines but an enormous intensity, in the role of an American film director who's shooting a movie version of James Joyce's "Ulysses". This is one of the most intelligent, delicate and touching films I've seen in many years.