Daddy Nostalgia

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.

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.

Faultless in execution - but I couldn't relate to the characters, nor to the situation. Neither tragedy, nor comedy ... it just dragged on interminably. I only watched because of a certain nostalgic feeling for the bygone days of Dirk Bogarde; ironically I found Jane Birkin's performance much more engrossing (his, not at all, actually). Or, perhaps it was her beauty and animation that kept me watching.

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 Nostalgie centers its attention on Jane Birkin's character, Caroline, who is a successful screenwriter based in Paris. As the story opens, she receives a call from her mother explaining that her father is in the hospital recovering from heart surgery. Tony Russell, her father, played by Dirk Bogarde in his final role, was a successful international salesman who had to spend much of his career traveling abroad. Caroline, ever the dutiful daughter, then travels to the Cote d'Azur to be by her parents' side during this family crisis. During this time, Caroline finally has a chance to get to know her father for what might be the first time.

While most films tend to gloss over the more complex and lasting aspects of familial relationships, this film focuses on them. In life, every action is steeped in history, and every action carries with it consequences for good and/or for ill. This film is true to that reality. Daddy Nostalgie examines how people live with the consequences of their actions, how those consequences often echo through the generations, and how we can both love and hate someone at the same time.

What makes this film superior is how the director is able to show the emotional complexity of the characters. They are forced to confront many opposites, such as love and hate, life and death, marriage and divorce. While struggling to remain calm on the surface, each character must try to suppress the emotions being churned up within. Tavernier is able to show how everyone is successful, but only to a point, of maintaining such a false front. All are trying to hide their feelings from the others, but also from themselves. And it is why and how they maintain these facades that make this film both interesting and bittersweet.