My Father Was Right

'My Father Was Right' has a somewhat different feel to the other films I've seen from Sacha Guitry - the wit is still there but wrapped around real-world sadness and heartbreak, adding an emotional weight I've not seen in his films before, most prominently in the center of the film, where the now old man is visited by the wife who once betrayed and abandoned him. It's a beautifully maintained scene, both funny and sincere in its pain, and Guitry himself is flawless in it.

Most of Guitry's films are patchy, and this one is no exception, but this additional dimension raises it above many of the rest.