Summer Hours (3/5)

Summer Hours
(Olivier Assayas):
Juliette Binoche, Charles Berling, Jérémie Renier, Edith Scob, Dominique Reymond.
Running time: 102 minutes.

You’d want a safe pair of eyes watching this graceful family drama from director Olivier Assayas, a film so delicate it could crack under your gaze. Here is a thoughtful film, ruminating gently on the nature of memory and how it ties to art. It was produced in part to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Musee d’Orsay and benefits from very swish art nouveau props that would look great in your livingroom. Edith Scob, looking like the kind of cool granny you only find in France, plays a 75-year-old fighting the shadows of late life. She has spent her time guarding the heritage of her uncle, a great artist. The scenic estate she lives on is a treasure trove of early 20th century gems. When she dies, her two sons tangle over what to do with the house. Juliette Binoche as the daughter gives a very subtle, naturalistic performance as the sister who herself designs objets d’art but is emotionally detached from their sentiment. When the collection is donated to a museum, you do sense how something intangible has been lost. One of Summer Hours’ joys is its manner of gentle revelation though its delicate over-refinement comes at a price — I began to wish for something to coarsen the finesse. Assayas leaves us with the uncomfortable yet hopeful image of a hoard of student partygoers entering the old house. The real sentimental value of objects, it seems, lasts only as long as there is somebody to remember it.