Daddy Nostalgia

Although gentle in presentation, this film packs a wallop. The wonderful Dirk Bogarde, in his final role, portrays a man in failing health staring mortality in the face. His wife and daughter deal with him and his impending demise as best they can, but the past weighs heavily on all of them, a source of both great pleasure and intense regret.

The beautiful setting on the coast of France is an ironic backdrop, a sun kissed panorama of holiday pleasure, against which the three protagonists struggle to accept the disappointments of the past and the daunting future that lingers ever closer.

The performances are note perfect, capturing the flashes of tenderness, regret and anxiety that play out in a never-ending merry-go-round of conflicting emotions. But it is the terrifically subtle screenplay and masterful direction of Taverner that makes the viewer feel they are witnessing a genuine experience of life rather than a filmed entertainment.

This film is not for everyone, but the audience that is receptive to its charms will feel deeply moved and enriched by the experience.

Daddy Nostalgia (These Foolish Things in the UK) (French: Daddy Nostalgie) (1995) First Watched: 9/17/25 Director: Bertrand Tavernier Rating: 6/10 Stars

"Five Facts/Feelings Film Feedback"

1. This was Bogarde's last film. His last performance is bittersweet, as he is playing a father who could have done better and a different husband, reminiscing on his life during his final days.

2. Set during the final days of summer and the serene autumn days on the French Riviera, which makes for some magnificent scenery.

3. Birkin has a pleasantly melodious voice. It should not be surprising to learn that she has had a successful career as a singer- in addition to what she has recorded on various film soundtracks.

4. Chemistry between characters was lacking. Missing between Miche and Tony (mommy and daddy). Not very convincing between mommy and daughter. Gratefully, the strongest was between the most important relationship for the film, Caroline and her daddy.

5. The flow of the story would have benefited from better handling of the flashbacks. This hindrance, along with the sparse chemistry results in something a little overwhelming- yet still worth a watch for the tender depiction and wisdoms it manages to accord regarding dying and death.

I second Victoria's comments. A profoundly moving film.

Caroline loves her father and craves his attention, but he has lived a self-indulgent life and never gave her the time and affection she needed. Now, as time is running out, they both strive to heal their relationship.

A superbly successful investigation of the relationship between a woman and her father, that both analyzes their feelings and narrates their efforts to reach each other, and which ends in a timeless, transcendental moment capturing the bittersweet and ephemeral nature of life.

For me,as a man, the film gave insight into the father/daughter relationship; I notice that young women gave this film a higher rating than other groups.

Also, one of the few English language films of Jane Birkin widely available in the USA, along with Dust and Kung Fu Master. A uniquely sensitive actress with a large body of work in French cinema.

Daddy Nostalgie looked promising right from the outset. A film by Bertrand Tavernier (director of the gentle, beautiful 'Sunday in the Country') starring Jane Birkin (so superb in La Belle Noiseuse) and Dirk Bogarde (who stole the show from Gielgud and Burstyn in Providence... no mean feat at all) - it was hard to imagine this being anything other than a quality film.

And yet, even I was surprised by how good it was. So few films allow you to truly empathise with the characters, but this movie is an exception. You really feel for Birkin's character, as you see the hurt she still feels from being ignored as a child. The best scenes are those between her and her father - he, trying to make the most of his last days, and she, trying to make the most of her last days with him. Even the crabby mother is given a degree of character development as the film moves on, but in the end she takes a back seat to the performance of the two superb lead actors.

A sensitive, mature film with truly beautiful cinematography, this is one that will surely be appreciated by anyone who has had to deal with family relationships at any stage in their life.

This touching film bears up to repeated viewings for its subtlety and insight. I agree with all of the comments discussed by the two previous reviewers, Victoria and Les Halles.

By focussing on the "non-action" of daily life and daily conversation, Tavernier appears to present a nothing of a film, but in reality has captured something valuable and ephemeral -- the silent dialogue between a husband and wife after a long marriage and the discovery of love between a father and daughter, all of whom have to deal in their own way with his impending death.

The use as a coda of the haunting song "These foolish things remind me of you" as sung by Jane Birkin in her breathless voice has never been more apt. It should be noted from the credits that Tavernier dedicated this film to another cinema genius Michael Powell (of the team Powell & Pressberger). Like Powell, Dirk Bogarde, both in the film and in real life, was very English, but cosmopolitan in intellect and cultural tastes. These characteristics are brought out in Bogarde's portrayal and in Birkin's flashbacks of her early remembrances. The acting and inter-action of the three principals, Bogarde, Birkin and Laure, is so subtle as to not appear as such, again a tribute to their experience and rapport with the director.

For someone who has faced the recent death of a loved one, this film rings true, and the refrain from the song takes on a new dimension, not intended by the original lyricist.

*****Five stars for hitting its emotional target..