Themes: Fathers and Sons, Haunted By the Past, Family Gatherings
Main Cast: Michel Bouquet, Charles Berling, Natacha Régnier, Amira Casar, Stephane Guillon
Release Year: 2001
Country: ES/FR
Run Time: 100 minutes
Plot
When the grown-up children of a missing parent are reunited with their father, they discover it raises more questions than it answers in a well-crafted mood piece from writer/director Anne Fontaine. Jean-Luc (Charles Berling) is a well-to-do physician whose practice is devoted to older patients, many of whom are forced to confront their fears about death. While Jean-Luc is used to dealing with such issues, they come home for him one day when he learns that his father has died. The news prompts Jean-Luc to look back at his younger days, and his difficult relationship with his dad, Maurice (Michel Bouquet), who ran out on his family when Jean-Luc was a boy and returned after he'd grown to adulthood with few explanations about where he'd gone (he became a volunteer physician in the Third World) and why he left his wife and children behind. Growing up in an air of uncertainty has had an impact on Jean-Luc's relationship with his wife Isa (Natacha Regnier); neither is certain of how to reach out to one another, and Jean-Luc sometimes seeks comfort in the arms of Myriem (Amira Casar), an assistant in his office. Maurice's absence also took its toll on Jean-Luc's brother, Patrick (Stephane Guillon), who deals with his anxieties by pursuing a career as a comic, while earning his keep as Jean-Luc's driver. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Though it received many smashing reviews, Comment J'ai Tué Mon Pere, or How I Killed My Father as it was released in America, is not the equal to writer/director Anne Fontaine's previous film Dry Cleaning. However, the plot is very similar. Both feature a surprise guest and marital complications for the characters played by Charles Berling. In Comment, Berling is Jean-Luc, a shallow and reprehensible rich doctor, while his father Maurice (Michel Bouquet) is a mysterious character, charming to most people, but the viewer wonders what is up his sleeve. Isa (Natacha Régnier) is the polar opposite of her character in the hit The Dreamlife of Angels, here unrecognizable from that performance. She plays a yuppie housewife who takes a liking to Maurice, as he squabbles with his two sons. The other son, Patrick (Stephane Guillon), is a terrible standup comic and his act, which pops up throughout the film, is baffling and about the furthest thing from funny. None of the characters are terribly interesting except for Maurice. Still, the movie has several plot twists and plenty of drama, and is held together by Bouquet's superb performance. ~ Adam Bregman, All Movie Guide
