Father of My Children (2009)

A film producer struggles with suicidal despair.

Director:

Mia Hansen-Løve

Writer:

Mia Hansen-Løve (screenplay)

Stars:

Louis-Do de Lencquesaing, Chiara Caselli, Alice de Lencquesaing

2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Louis-Do de Lencquesaing	...	Grégoire Canvel
Chiara Caselli	...	Sylvia Canvel
Alice de Lencquesaing	...	Clémence Canvel
Alice Gautier	...	Valentine Canvel
Manelle Driss	...	Billie Canvel
Eric Elmosnino	...	Serge (as Éric Elmosnino)
Sandrine Dumas	...	Valérie, l'assistante de production
Dominique Frot	...	Bérénice, la directrice de production
Antoine Mathieu	...	Frédéric, le comptable
Elsa Pharaon	...	Colette, la secrétaire
Olivia Ross	...	Anja, la stagiaire
Jamshed Usmonov	...	Kova Asimov (as Djamshed Usmonov)
Cori Shim	...	Ji Hong
Yejin Kim	...	La traductrice
Igor Hansen-Løve	...	Arthur Malkavian

Storyline

In the first half, Gregoire, a movie producer of great charm, owner of Moon Films, plays with his younger daughters, talks with his wife and his eldest daughter, and keeps his studio going while one project hemorrhages money and creditors circle. In the second half, Sylvia, his Italian wife, tries to hold the family together as she looks fully into Moon Films' troubles. She meets with a banker, a temperamental Swede, Russian TV magnates, a film lab exec, and Moon's lawyer. Clémence, the oldest daughter, goes on her own search. Debt can crush; how does a family pick up the pieces?

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Plot Keywords:

watering a plant | producer | italian | play | film producer | 

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Taglines:

A beautiful life, a tragic obsession

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Vaguely based on the real story of Humbert Balsan, a film producer who committed suicide in 2005.

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Connections

Featured in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #1.10 (2011)

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Soundtracks

Que Sera, Sera
Written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans
Performed by Doris Day with Frank De Vol (as Franck Devol) and His Orchestra

User Reviews

Slightly pointless

'The Father Of My Children' tells the story of the family of a film producer who comes under financial stress. Plot-wise, the film surprises when the expected ending occurs half-way through; we thus get to also see the aftermath. There's nothing wrong with this per se, although it means we really have two stories in one, and the overall narrative arc is thus slightly broken. But I don't think this is the only reason this film seems strangely devoid of dramatic tension. Even though there are some fairly notable developments, nothing really seems to upset the serenity of its affluent characters. At one point, there's a power cut and the lights go off; after a few minutes, they come back on again, and in some ways, that's how the whole film feels: stuff happens, but the consequences always seem not to actually matter that much. I normally like understated films; but this one, although nicely put together, feels underplayed, and therefore, just a little uninteresting.

Details

Official Sites:

IFC Films [United States] Les Films du Losange [France]

Country:

France Germany Belgium

Language:

French

Release Date:

16 December 2009 (France)

Also Known As:

Father of My Children

Filming Locations:

Orléans, Loiret, France

Box Office

Budget:

EUR2,100,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,414, 23 May 2010

Gross USA:

$144,022

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$480,834

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films Pelléas, 27 Films Production, Arte France Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1