The House by the Sea (2017)

Three grown children gathered at the picturesque villa of their dying father reflect on where they are, who they have become, and what they have inherited.

Director:

Robert Guédiguian

Writers:

Robert Guédiguian (screenplay), Serge Valletti (screenplay)

Stars:

Ariane Ascaride, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Gérard Meylan

2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Ariane Ascaride	...	Angèle Barberini
Jean-Pierre Darroussin	...	Joseph
Gérard Meylan	...	Armand
Jacques Boudet	...	Martin - le père d'Yvan
Anaïs Demoustier	...	Bérangère
Robinson Stévenin	...	Benjamin
Yann Trégouët	...	Yvan
Geneviève Mnich	...	Suzanne - la mère d'Yvan
Fred Ulysse	...	Maurice - le père
Diouc Koma	...	Le soldat
Haylana Bechir	...	Jeune réfugiée
Ayoub Oaued	...	Enfant réfugié 1
Giani Roux	...	Enfant réfugié 2
Esther Seignon	...	Blanche
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Théau Courtès	...	L'adjudant

Storyline

Sixty-year-old Angèle Barberini, an actress, returns to her father's villa, situated in a beautiful creek near Marseille. She left the place twenty years before following a terrible trauma she experienced there, swearing never to come back. But now Maurice, her genitor, who has just been the victim of a stroke is persistent vegetative, with no hope of recovery and her presence is needed. Her two brothers, Joseph, an embittered retired worker, and Armand, the manager of the local restaurant, welcome her. They must look to the future and decide what measures to take concerning the villa and the restaurant. But the past, on the other hand, has its say.

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Plot Keywords:

south of france | older man younger woman relationship | mediterranean sea | villa | seaside | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Footage from the film Ki Lo Sa, by the same director, is used in a flashback sequence. The footage features the same actors of the main characters, but 31 years younger, which gives the flashback a realistic feel.

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Connections

Edited from Ki lo sa? (1986)

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Soundtracks

I Want You
Written and Performed by Bob Dylan
© 1966 Dwarf Music

User Reviews

The Twilight of Illusions

In a cove not far from Marseille, the actress Angèle joins her two brothers in their birthplace, where following a drama, she has not set foot for 20 years. All three are gathered around their father, diminished by a stroke. An opportunity for them to take stock of their lives, the evolution of society and what remains of their ideals and commitments.

As melancholy and twilight as Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard", from which the script is very freely adapted, "The Villa" sings the sad lament of lost illusions . « The Villa » is no longer about a cherry orchard but revolves around a quality restaurant at moderate prices nestled in the hollow of a southern cove. Two brothers and their sister (an actress who returns to her childhood home for the first time in twenty years) meet up with their father who has suffered a stroke. It is an opportunity for them to take stock of their lives, of the evolution of the world and what remains of their ideals. The outcome is not a happy one: just like the father's restaurant, still held at arm's length by one of the two sons, is threatened, their constituent values (humanism, solidarity, the fight for justice) are are questioned by a society that is now gangrenous with ultra-liberalism.... Robert Guédiguian's spokespersons are none other than his three fetish actors, Ariane Ascaride (all in thwarted tenderness), Jean-Pierre Darroussin (and his weary irony) and Gérard Meylan (a figure of uncompromising fidelity to his initial ideals), who have evolved alongside him over three decades. A good idea of the director is to include in the 2016 film an excerpt from "Ki lo sa", shot in 1986, featuring our three musketeers still fresh and naïve. It is both touching and striking. In the end, a disenchanted film, but not as radical as Chekhov's play. In this damaged world, there are still a few positive points left, the superb Calanque de Méjean, the gentle smile of Bérangère (radiant Anaïs Demoustier), a fisherman in love with theater, a moving reconciliation and even, in the last part, the revelation of a new battle to be fought. Bitterness certainly, but neither sourness nor boredom

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Germany] Official site [Japan]

Country:

France

Language:

French Arabic

Release Date:

29 November 2017 (France)

Also Known As:

La casa junto al mar

Filming Locations:

Calanque de Méjean, Ensuès-la-Redonne, Bouches-du-Rhône, France

Box Office

Budget:

$3,200,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,720,804

Company Credits

Production Co:

Agat Films & Cie, France 3 Cinéma, Canal+

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1