My Father's Glory (1990)

Also known as

Gloire de mon père, La

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I know Marcel Pagnol mostly through Claude Berri's Jean de Florette, based on Pagnol's original Manon des sources, which he adapted from his own novel. It's a wonderful, tragic story, set in the hills of Aubagne, Provence -- where, it transpires, Pagnol was born.

My Father's Glory, based on his autobiography, details one perfect summer there. It's nothing so trite as a "coming-of-age" story: part of the film's charm is that Marcel (as a young boy, Benoît Martin; at 11, Julien Ciamaca) is preadolescent; his lessons are the first glimmers of maturity, not its full dawning. Even his gradual recognition of his father's weaknesses is so gentle that it is ultimately more sweet than bitter.

It's glorious.

- Sam - 2009-04-10 02:35:37