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For a film about objects, Summer Hours presents a surprisingly affecting scenario. Then again, Olivier Assayas has never taken the easy road to catharsis. It's no spoiler to note that Hélène Berthier (Edith Scob) passes away shortly after her 75th birthday party, at which she tells her three children, Frédéric (Charles Berling), Adrienne (Juliette Binoche), and Jérémie (Jérémie Renier), that they're free to do whatever they want with her belongings The niece of a renowned painter, Hélène leaves behind a collection of art deco furnishings and precious objets d'art, including Musée d'Orsay-loaned pieces by De
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For a film about objects, Summer Hours presents a surprisingly affecting scenario. Then again, Olivier Assayas has never taken the easy road to catharsis. It's no spoiler to note that Hélène Berthier (Edith Scob) passes away shortly after her 75th birthday party, at which she tells her three children, Frédéric (Charles Berling), Adrienne (Juliette Binoche), and Jérémie (Jérémie Renier), that they're free to do whatever they want with her belongings The niece of a renowned painter, Hélène leaves behind a collection of art deco furnishings and precious objets d'art, including Musée d'Orsay-loaned pieces by Degas and Redon. Were he a different kind of director, the superficial would lock horns with the righteous, but these characters aren't quite so simplistic. Frédéric, who resides in France with his wife and teenage daughter, wishes to leave everything as it is, but Adrienne lives in New York with her boyfriend (played by Clint Eastwood's son, Kyle) and Jérémie lives in China with his wife and young children, so they hatch a plan that meets everyone's unique needs. Largely devoid of music, once an Assayas signature, the movie ends with a raucous house party that recalls his 1994 feature Cold Water, and Berling (Les Destinées, Demonlover) continues to do some of his finest work for the filmmaker, anchoring this deceptively rich picture with his subtle performance. Summer Hours marks a return to form for Assayas (after the stylishly inert Boarding Gate) and offers a rewarding new twist on the family melodrama. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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Manufacturer: Criterion
Release date: 20 April 2010
Number of discs: 2
EAN: 0715515056915 UPC: 715515056915
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