You Will Be My Son
You Will Be My Son
R | 16 August 2013 (USA)
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Paul de Marseul, a prestigious wine-maker and owner of a renowned chateau and vineyard in Saint-Emilion, is disheartened by the notion of his son Martin taking over the family business. Martin does not seem to have inherited the qualities that Paul esteems in a wine-maker: persistence, creative insight and technical prowess matched with passion for the job and the product, and Paul frequently reminds him of this, whether explicitly or in subtle gestures. When Philippe, the son of his manager, appears at the vineyard, Paul leaps at the chance to name him as his successor, neglecting the wishes of his own son...

Reviews
Salubfoto It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.
Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.
Yash Wade Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.
Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.
philipfoxe Some excellent playing in this film which really works because its French. Some have commented on the character of the son, Martin and that he is an unsympathetic character. In Hollywood, he would have been a lovely doe-eyed sweetie pie, but this is a French movie. A son who has been constantly neglected, abused and criticised by his father is likely to be introverted, resentful and unconfident and so he is. It is to be admired that he is portrayed as flawed and uncharismatic. His loyal and loving wife keeps him going and supports him-without her he would not cope. This film, with more work, money, time etc could have been a classic, but it is still a good reason to value the French film industry.
Sindre Kaspersen French screenwriter, producer and director Gilles Legrand's third feature film which he co-produced and co-wrote with French screenwriter and director Delphine de Vigan, premiered in France, was shot on locations in France and is a French production which was produced by producer Frédéric Brillion. It tells the story about a middle-aged Roman Catholic monarchist named Paul de Marseul who lives on a grand estate in Les Etourneaux in Nice, France where he runs a vineyard. When Paul's long-time collaborator named Francois Amelot learns that he is dying from cancer, Paul's son named Martin who works for him and lives on his estate with his wife named Alice makes himself available to take over Francois' position, but Paul doesn't regard his son that highly and is more concerned with Martin giving him a grandson. Distinctly and precisely directed by French filmmaker Gilles Legrand, this finely paced fictional tale which is narrated from multiple viewpoints though mostly from the two main characters' viewpoints, draws an increasingly dramatic portrayal of a seasoned wine maker who was sent away from home as a nine-year-old in the early 1950s to attend a Jesuit boarding school and who was noticed for the first time and trained by his father as a 17-year-old, and his relationship with his only child whom he thinks has a personality which is more compatible to that of his mother than to his. While notable for its distinct, atmospheric and naturalistic milieu depictions, masterful cinematography by French cinematographer and director Yves Angelo, reverent production design by production designer Aline Bonetto, costume design by costume designer Tess Hammami, film editing by film editor Andréa Sedlackova and use of sound, colors and light, this dialog-driven and narrative-driven story about a father's resentment towards his own flesh and blood whom he likes to dictate and taunt, depicts two conflicting and heartrending studies of character and contains a timely and prominent score by composer Armand Amar.This elegiacally atmospheric, sarcastically humorous and densely generational character piece which is set during a summer in France in the 21st century and where a French man named Philippe whom has been living in Chile for the last three years arrives at the Marseul family estate without any other reasons for his visit than to meet his father, and is embraced by his fathers' friend and associate, is impelled and reinforced by its cogent narrative structure, substantial character development, rhythmic continuity, unsentimental dialog, indifferently claiming and disowning comment by Paul : "I'm your father, aren't I", the majestic acting performance by French actor Niels Arestrup and the involving acting performances by French actors Lorànt Deutsch, Nicolas Bridet, Patrick Chesnais and French actress Anne Marivin. An eloquently psychological, commandingly cinematographic and revering narrative feature.
Chris L Gilles Legrand delivers with Tu Seras Mon Fils a poignant drama carried an excellent duo of actors whose performances are oozing accuracy, the always masterful Niels Arestrup, frightening as an authoritarian and despising patriarch, and Lorànt Deutsch, touching as a constantly demeaned son.The viewer ends up completely carried away by this polished familial tragedy where the implacable unfolding of the plot and the striking dialogues totally captivate from end to end. However, certain motivations are a bit hard to assimilate and the purpose of the opening scene is questionable because it incomprehensibly reveals the twist of the movie, which by the way could be regarded as a bit sloppy.All in all, Tu Seras Mon Fils overall is solid and deserves more consideration than the press critics tried to convince us.
dbdumonteil With a title borrowed from Kipling ,"Tu Seras Mon Fils" is one of the best French contemporary movies.I have the strange feeling that Gilles Legrand was able,not a small feat,to capture what was great in the old glorious cinema,particularly that of Julien Duvivier , with whom he shares the same pessimism and an unusual depiction of nastiness ,of cruelty ,transferred to the realities of our times.Nils Arestrup,too often cast in supporting parts,gives a terrifying performance of a wealthy man , a viticulturist whose vintage wine he treasures and who despises his son,Martin;He cannot talk to him without demeaning,humiliating him,going as far as to accuse him of causing the death of his mother when they visit her grave ;"you do not belong here;"you're no good at anything" "if you do not know,ask Philippe".Philippe ,the foreman's son ,is exactly the kind of son the father longs for;besides ,Phil's father,is dying of cancer:so why not adopt him and send Martin away from the valuable property?"you change sons as you change your shoes" says the daughter-in-law who desperately supports Martin.The father's game is subtle:when he is awarded the Legion D'Honneur,he takes his new "son" to Paris with him in a luxury hotel (he gives HIS surname to Philippe when he books the rooms),he poses for the press with him by his side ("the newspaper reads "with his son" ,says Phil's mother,they must have made a mistake") Nils Arestrup never overplays but he really makes us believe he is a monster ;the rest of the cast rises to the occasion:Patrick Chesnais ,terminally ill,seeing him take his own son away from him;Valerie Mairesse ,as his wife ,who sees clearer than he does;and the two boys,one very shy with a low self -esteem (two gripping scenes:the self-inflicted wound with the secateurs in the vineyard;the nightmare in which he sees his (monstrous) father trying to drown him in a vat of wine) ;the other one,the fine boy with good prospects, so sure of himself ,who's just back from California where he had a very good job. With an unusually good sense of space (the vineyard is remarkably filmed),a dense screenplay,lines to rival the best of Henri Jeanson,Charles Spaak or Henri-Georges Clouzot,Gilles Legrand blew my mind;Two comments so far !!it would deserve a hundred of them!yes it would!
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