Um Pai... e um Filho (2002)

While the whole world thinks writer Léo Shepherd is dead, he is kidnapped by his son Paul.

Director:

Jacob Berger

Writers:

Pascal Barollier, Jacob Berger

Stars:

Gérard Depardieu, Guillaume Depardieu, Sylvie Testud

3 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Gérard Depardieu	...	Leo Shepherd
Guillaume Depardieu	...	Paul
Sylvie Testud	...	Virginia
Julien Boisselier	...	Arthur
Noémie Kocher	...	Marthe
Hiam Abbass	...	Salma
Frédéric Polier	...	Andre
Pierre-Alexandre Crevaux	...	Paul, Age 8
Pippa Schallier	...	Virginia, Age 11
Johanna Mohs	...	Pippi
Jacques Frantz	...	Antoine Levy
Sten Eirik	...	Sven Boland
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Karina Aktouf	...	Paul's fiancee
Roberto Bestazzoni	...	Policeman
Manuela Biedermann	...	Hospital nurse

Storyline

Writer Léo Shepherd lives in rural France together with his daughter Virginia, who manages his affairs. One day Virginia gets a call from the Swedish Academy. Léo has won the Nobel Prize for Literature. His estranged son Paul tries desperately to contact him, but is denied every time by his sister. When Léo starts traveling to the ceremony in Stockholm by motor bike, Paul decides to follow him and try to speak to him. Clearly Léo doesn't want to be followed, starts speeding and gets involved in a accident, but isn't badly hurt. The police confuse another motorist for Shepherd and announce his death. Paul, driven by his childhood experiences, decides to kidnap his father.

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Plot Keywords:

female nudity | topless female nudity | dressing | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

France Canada UK Switzerland

Language:

French English Swedish

Release Date:

20 October 2005 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Um Pai... e um Filho

Filming Locations:

Bienne, Kanton Bern, Switzerland

Company Credits

Production Co:

Canal+,DD Productions,Enterprise Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The ferry scenes were actually shot on the Isle of Wight ferry England.

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Connections

Featured in Un jour, un destin: Gérard Depardieu: blessures secrètes (2009)

User Reviews

The Emotional Limitations of a Great Artist: A Very Realistic Portrayal

I must begin by emphasizing that the English title of this film is completely inappropriate. The correct translation of the French title is the imperative- Love Your Father.I think this fact is very key in the director's intention, as the story is really about that construct and not that of the erroneous The Loving Father.

I rarely feel so differently from other IMDb posters as I apparently do on this film. For me, Love Your Father was very realistic in its portrayal of all of the characters and their interactions.The messiness of it all, the many unanswered questions of motivation and action,history and future, were all part of a very realistic believable picture of a highly dysfunctional family.I suspected that the end would not clean up the mess,and it did not. However, I did think that the ferry and Nobel scenes showed that the brother and sister had finally really understood and accepted that they would never get what they had always wanted, and they could move forward as adults.As unexplained as it was, the very end gave me an interpretation of the future for the main character,cleanly echoed in the overlaid words of the Nobel recitation.So I did experience closure.

What I took away from the film is that great artists create and give great art to the world; they are driven to do this; it is not a rational or controllable decision for them. At the same time, they are often incapable of giving great things anywhere else in their lives.Almost invariably , they cannot give friends and family the love those people crave and deserve. So the 'loved ones' suffer immensely. Many other films and books have shown this irony; I thought Love Your Father did a terrific job of exposing it.