Daddy Nostalgie

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.

Lovely swansong of actor Dirk Bogarde, playing an English businessman who is dying after a heart operation which only served to postpone the inevitable. The film is an unforgettable final weeks of close interaction between father and daughter (Jane Birkin) which never happened earlier in their life. The mother, a devout Catholic and a bridge addict and once beautiful, is not a person of high intellectual capacity. Bogarde and the charming Jane Birkin are used by Tavernier to put together a family film that could have been a Michael Powell (of Powell and Pressburger fame) product and by a coincidence Powell died the year this Tavernier film was released. Tavernier dedicated the film to Powell, whose works must have made an impact on Tavernier. Bogarde died 9 years after this film. The film belongs to a mature, beautiful and middle-aged toothy Birkin; Bogarde; and Tavernier. The original story was written by Colo Tavernier, who was Bertrand Tavernier's former wife (they divorced in 1981) but the film was co-scripted by both Bertrand and Colo. I wonder if Tavernier was influenced by another Bogarde film, "The Night Porter," in crafting the considerably different-end sequence in his film, with the rainy weather and the camera following the character(s) along the sidewalks.

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.

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..

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.