Advertise here.
 |
Title: Summer Hours (L'Heure d'été)
|
/ 
| CONSUMER ADVICE |
Parents, there is some mild language but nothing too serious. Recommended for ages 7 and up. |
What is it about things that make us emotional? Sure we talk about how worldly possessions are temporary and that they don’t bring us true happiness. So why is it that people will cling to them for dear life sometimes? I think part of it may be because so much of us are in those things sometimes. What’s more, sometimes there’s a lot of someone else in those things. “Summer Hours” revolves around a French family who are visiting their mother on her 75th birthday. She enjoys their company but when they leave she muses to the maid about how she’s getting old, her children are growing apart from France, and that she’s concerned that they don’t really have much time her (or each other) anymore.
 |
Her concerns may be well founded. One of her daughters has already moved to America (Academy Award-winner Juliette Binoche), another has moved to China with his family (Charles Berling), and there’s only one son who still lives in France (Jeremie Renier). Shortly after the party the mother does die and the son who stayed in his origin country is left with the task of dealing with the house and the artifacts inside. His brother and sister insist that they can’t care for the house and that the stuff would be better off being sold to museums. There are some nice antiques that deserve to be seen by the world. To some extent they may be right. But what about the sentimental value? As the kids - now grown with their own families - look through the items memories flood back.
 |
Memories of past summers and family gatherings. A glass vase that strikes many as a piece of junk holds great value to the daughter. We never see any of these memories in flashbacks, but judging from the looks on their face and musings of a day far distant in the past, we can all figure out that their life story is scattered among these items. Let me tell you a story of my own (if you don’t mind). Growing up my family used to take me and my brother to Disneyland on almost a yearly basis. On the way we always stopped at Uncle Tom and Aunt Janet’s house. Growing up I’m not going to lie: I liked going to their house for three reasons. The first was that the drive for the day was over. The second was that they were nice people. The third was that the next day we’d be at Disneyland.
 |
In retrospect it seems so selfish that the main reason I got excited to see them was because we were closer to the theme park, but then I was young. Anyway, Uncle Tom and Aunt Janet loved to discuss the things they collected over the years. The item that stuck out to me was one afternoon Uncle Tom was talking about his life. All the things he’d done, all the dreams he had. He told me about how he met his wife and what made him fall in love with her. For the first time ever I actually listened to what he had to say. He capped off by showing me a paperweight. It was clear and had pieces of a watch all throughout it. He told me about how he got it and why he loved it so much. One year we went to the house but they weren’t there.
 |
At an old age they couldn’t take care of themselves anymore and my Uncle Terrence was given the task of taking care of those things. On the final day we were at the house he asked us if there were any items we wanted to take with us, since most of it would be sold at a garage sale. Instantly my mind flew to the paperweight and I had to have it. I found it, took it, and every time I look at that thing I remember what it was like in that house. This film captures that same sort of feeling in my opinion. Yes it’s about more then just things. There are other issues in this film besides who gets the tea set. But the underlying theme in this movie is that things CAN be important! Someone’s life story can be told through the possessions they have.
 |
If you walked into my room and looked through my things I’m sure they would speak volumes about what kind of life I live, what kind of things I’m passionate about. Same goes for every member of my family. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get sentimental. I know I’m supposed to be talking about the movie. But I feel the best movies that are made are the ones that get you to think. Self examine. Look at the world in a whole new light or in a way not thought of before. They can also stir up feelings in you that you were unaware of. For me “Summer Hours” is that kind of film. A masterpiece. I may never watch it again, but I’ll remember it always. Whether you get the same feelings from it is another matter altogether. But I think this movie shares a universal truth that can make it appealing to pretty much anyone with an open mind.
  |
 |
|
|
Spaceriffic Review
Want to see us review this? Send a donation with your title request, and it will be done (might take awhile, but it will get done).
Click here for a list of films that have already been requested before you request something.
