Released in theaters 5/29/09 (limited)
Summer Hours (L’heure d’ete) is the story of two brothers and a sister coping with their mother’s death. It’s not exactly an exciting story but it’s definitely intriguing from start to finish. The three siblings have to deal with not just the horribly painful loss, but the funeral and the costs and the splitting of things and who gets what. It’s all very stressful, especially since their mother, Helene (Edith Scob), had many pieces of value in her home – art and furniture that the biggest museums in France would like to showcase.
Most of the burden is placed on the oldest brother, Frederic, played by Charles Berling. Frederic is great. I really cared about him so much. He was constantly trying to be the strong, older brother, but he really just missed his Mom. My favorite scene occurs between him and his wife. They’re having lunch together and are both obviously stressed out with everything. He says something that makes her laugh. It wasn’t anything particularly funny but he gets a kick out of it and they both start giggling uncontrollably – but sort of controlled because they’re in this very nice, upscale, quiet restaurant. Their laughter is contagious. I was laughing right a long with them. The movie opens with Helene’s birthday party at her home in France. It’s the house they all grew up in: a beautiful, old home with lots of land and lots of memories. All the grandkids are running around, playing. It paints a very homey, loving picture. But the siblings have their own lives that pull them further away each year; the sister, Adrienne, played by Juliette Binoche (Chocolat, The English Patient) lives in New York, and the youngest brother, Jeremie (Jeremie Renier), lives wit h his wife and kids in Beijing. Frederic is the only one still living in France with his wife and two kids.
Helene won’t stop speaking of her impending death and what will be done with the house and all her precious items when she’s gone. She thinks the kids will sell the house but Frederic assures her that they will keep it and all her belongings intact. When it does come time, after the funeral, for the siblings to figure everything out, Frederic assumes his brother and sister will want exactly what he wants – to keep the house, to keep having family gatherings there for years to come. He’s shocked when Adrienne and Jeremie both want to sell the house for practical reasons. They won’t be visiting France often and they both can benefit from the money.
It’s easy to understand both sides but it’s impossible not to feel bad for Frederic. He’s so sentimental about keeping the house intact and having all the family gatherings there and having the grandkids grow up in the house just as he and his family did. The house is full of good memories and of course reminds him of his mother. Throughout the whole movie it feels like something big is going to happen at the end, like something drastic is going to happen with the house or an art piece is going to be worth a crazy amount of money. But it doesn’t. I felt sad at the end.
The movie centers around the three siblings, seeing their mother’s death from their point of view, but in the last scene we see the point of view of Frederic’s teenage daughter and find a completely new sympathy for her.
IMDB 6.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes 93%
Movie Wiseguys 6.5/10
Released 5/29/09 (Limited)