Reviewing Movies

[Warning: Contains Major Spoilers]

It has been said that after a certain point it is impossible to go home. Eighteen-year-old Simon played by Gaspard Ulliel has reached that point. Mind you not everyone has a Mother who, upon your turning up with a girlfriend for Christmas Holidays, would matter of factly ask if you plan to share a common bed. That exchange also serves to highlight the change in the filial relationship. The strained relationship with an older sister, the mentally unstable uncle, and a distant father who is critical of your chosen path in life.

Going deeper Simon becomes aware of the tension between his parents his presence seems to generate; his Father’s dismissive attitude; his Mother’s absences and nocturnal departures. How does one deal with the sudden knowledge that the man who raised you is not your biological father, that you have unknown half-siblings, that your girl-friend is attracted to your childhood buddy and not to you?

Through maturing eyes the island vacation home is visible with all its patched plaster, cardboard headboards, and cracked mirrors. What was once an idyllic holiday getaway is now filled with tension, competition, seediness, and adult situations. This being a movie made in France the camera is not afraid to linger over the bodies of its young protagonists. In particular it explores the photogenic Gaspard in great detail. I’m not certain that I buy the suicide sequence that begins and ends the piece.