MOVIE: FATHER OF MY CHILDREN

“I’d like you to decide to be happy.” Grégoire Canvel (Louis-Do de Lencquesaing) informs his eldest daughter, Clémence (Alice de Lencquesaing). We meet her as a sulking teenager but Grégoire is the kind of father that can snap anyone out of it with matter-of-fact reason. This striking command from Grégoire that stands out so early in the film turns out to be a significant theme in it, perhaps even its moral. The story doesn’t preach but in some way, leads by example. Writer/Director, Mia Hansen-Love, righteously won a Lumiere Award (2010) for Best Screenplay as well as the Special Jury Prize at the Festival De Cannes (2009). She has said the story stems from an experience she had as a budding screen writer, the emotive resonance of which, is clearly portrayed on screen. Pascal Auffray’s cinematography seamlessly mimics the script’s momentum and it’s difficult to find fault in any of the actor’s performances. There is a startling scene in the belly of this film that makes sense of the opening and closing ones but only after the dust settles and you’ve had time to reflect on the film. Father of My Children might make you angry or it might make you melancholic. Whichever the two, it’s a beautiful film that will make you make a judgement. (NG)