From veteran Portuguese director Manoel de Oliveira comes this bittersweet comedy story about life, death and loss. Following a fatal car accident ageing actor Gilbert (Michel Piccoli) finds himself the guardian of his young grandson and must make adjustments to his lifestyle. Both upbeat and philosophical on the perpetuity of life after tragedy, Piccoli brings an air of pathos to his role. There are moments of hilarity when he takes a part in a doomed production of Ulysses, whose director is played by the ever magnificent John Malkovich. “This is a gem: a small but perfectly formed, perfectly poised and perfectly acted movie…” Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian. (Cert PG)
Dir: Manoel de Oliveira 86 mins Port/Fra 2001
Preceded by the Annual General Meeting at 7.30 p.m.
Programme Notes
I’m Going Home (Je Rentre A La Maison)
France/Portugal 2001 90mins Cert PG
From director Manoel de Oliveira (A Divina Comedia (1991),To Each His Own Cinema (2007), Eccentricities of a Blonde-haired Girl (2009)), I’m Going Home follows an ageing actor named Gilbert Valence, played by Michel Piccoli (Belle de Jour (1967), We Have a Pope (2011), Holy Motors (2012)), as he now has to take care of his grandson, following the deaths of the rest of his family in a car crash. Accompanied with these new responsibilities, he struggles to get a good work-life balance, despite being offered roles for a TV show and a part in an English-language film of James Joyce’s Ulysses.
The film went down well with the critics, ranking at number five in Cahiers du Cinema’s Top Ten Films for 2001. It even scooped several awards, including a Portuguese Golden Globe for de Oliveira, a Golden Anchor Award at the 2002 Haifa International Film Festival, and the Critics’ Award at the 2001 São Paulo International Film Festival. De Oliveira was also nominated for the prestigious Palme d’Or at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. After a film-making career lasting from 1931 to 2013, he passed away in April 2015, aged 106, in his birth-town of Oporto in Portugal.
Acknowledgements: IMDB.com, MyReviewer.com, Los Angeles Times
“Piccoli gives one of the most nuanced performances of his distinguished career but the primary star of the movie is de Oliveira, who unfolds the story with unfailing skill and sensitivity” David Sterritt, Christian Science Monitor
“The result is something as original as it is unlikely: a study in grief that is flooded with happiness” Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
Gilbert Valence – Michel Piccoli
Marguerite – Catherine Deneuve
John Crawford – John Malkovich
George – Antoine Chappey
Sylvia – Leonor Baldaque
Director – Manoel de Oliveira
Producer – Paulo Branco
Screenplay – Manoel de Oliveira
Cinematography – Sabine Lancelin
Editor – Valérie Loiseleux
To be shown with The Dewberry Empire Britain 2013 8mins
Comments
THE DEWBERRY EMPIRE (short)
“Beautiful animation with pleasurably dark undercurrents”
“OK, with good voice-overs from the child actors”
I’M GOING HOME (feature)
“Delightfully absurd”
“Slowness and patterning [sic] were the deliberate ploys of an old master – delightful.”
“I am new to Abingdon and am very impressed by your programme and choice of films. However, this film was unbelievably slow.”
“Slow to start but I enjoyed it. Filmed with sensitivity.”
“I enjoyed the retro Paris ambience. A simple tale, well told.”
“The ‘old king’ scenes were too long and the ending unexpected but brilliant scenes of Paris, the French Tempest, the mugger, etc.”
“Not perfect by any means but with its extended shots and that organ music, it had enough charm to pull it off for (most of) its 86mins runtime.”
“There was a time … and then it all went wrong.”
“The occasional few moments of brilliance did not make up for the direness of the rest of the film.”
“What a very tedious film – wrong in every way … and the short was nearly as bad!”
“Glad to see Le Monde displacing Le Figaro.”