Amazon.com: A troubled family, living in genteel, suburban comfort in the south of France is jolted by the deteriorating health of their elderly grandmother and the reappearance of an absented sibling. Catherine Deneuve plays Emilie, a disillusioned parent and frustrated wife, who finds herself drawn away from her unimaginative husband toward her brother, a jealous and charismatic neurosurgeon. Structured like a novella with four chapters, Téchiné's film is riddled with long stretches of ponderous, often humorless, philosophical dialogue. Deneuve's Emilie remains inexpressive and remote; she occupies the moral center of the film, but her characterization isn't generous enough to grant us access to her motivations. Daniel Auteuil fares better as brother Antoine--his odd features and intelligent eyes communicate fathomless restlessness and longing. Spectacular, jaw-dropping footage of Southern France provides a gorgeous backdrop for many scenes, lending a depth and resonance that might otherwise be lacking. Bonus: Marcello Mastroianni's daughter Chiara portrays Emilie's daughter; she's a delight to watch and she acquits herself marvelously. --Miles Bethany
My Favorite Téchiné Film. André Téchiné's name is synonymous with great French films. He is best known for My Favorite Season (1993) and Wild Reeds (1994), both of which are included in the recent release of the Andre Techine Boxset. Téchiné describes My Favorite Season (Ma saison préférée) as a film "about individuality and the coldness of the modern world." It is ultimately a film about the damaging effects of modern life on human relationships. It tells the poignant story story of world-weary estranged siblings, Emilie (Catherine Deneuve), a lawyer, and Antoine (Daniel Auteuil), a chain-smoking neurosurgeon, who are reunited after three years when their aging mother Berthe (Marthe Villalonga) suffers a stroke. The film triumphs in its mature exploration of the emotional depths of their troubled relationship. Deneuve and Auteuil bring two of the best performances of their careers to the film in their subtle portrayal of middle-aged disillusionment and restlessness. Deneuve's real-life daughter Chiara Mastroianni (Persepolis; Love Songs) plays her emotionally-damaged daughter Anne in the film. This slowly-paced two-hour film delivers a huge emotional payoff in its final scenes. Highly recommended.
G. Merritt
Reality Bites And so does this piece of pretentious trash! Half-hearted plodding thru a directionless plot by has-beens and wannabe's. The music (what music?) was just as mindless. This movie had so much unleased potential that it was almost torture to watch. I gave it one star for the nice scenery.
ZZZzzzzzzzz............. I can't resist a movie with Catherine Deneuve - now I may be able to. A boring little tale of the spiraling sickness of an aged parent, unfeeling self-absorbed family, doomed, passionless marriage and a hint of incest. I gave it an extra star because, well it is Catherine after all. Rent it if you're desperate, but do not buy unless you're a masochist.
Intelligent and Wonderfully Brillant Cinema This review refers to the Fox Lorber DVD edition of "My Favorite Season"....
"My Favorite Season" is a wonderful piece of French filmmaking.The intelligent and subtle screenplay, the brillant cast, the beautiful setting of the French countryside,marvelous music, all under the expert direction of Andre Techine, had me hanging on every word,left me wanting more of this exquiste film, and thinking about it for quite some time afterwards.
Catherine Deneuve and Daniel Auteuil, work beautifully together as Emilie and Antoine, brother and sister trying to cope with a very dysfunctional family life, their own troubled relationship and the declining health of their aging mother.This is a family that tries very hard to just like one another, and with the passsing of each season,the changes in their lives run a gamut of emotions. Deneuve, Auteuil, and the rest of this outstanding cast will draw you in with their intuitive performances.It is a film that will involve you from the first frame to the last.
Fox Lorber has a knack for selecting and bringing to DVD some of the best international works out there. "My Favorite Season" is among the best of those. Overall, the DVD presents a nice clear picture in widescreen. The film is in French with subtitles in English. I did not see any way to delete the subtitles though. A trailer, and biographies are also included.
A wonderful emotional drama, and fine piece of filmmaking...enjoy...Laurie
also recommended: Three Colors Trilogy (Red / White / Blue) [Import](All-region)(Remastered)
Les Choses De La Vie (Original French Title)
Dangerous Liaisons
Reality Never Tasted So Good My Favorite Season is a film by Andre Techine. It depicts a dysfunctional French family as they come to grips with life in post-Vichy southern France. I'm kidding of course, the film has nothing to do with French Fascism, except in the sense that that period in history led up to the events depicted in the film, and if there had been no German occupation and Vichy government, this film would have been greatly different.
As to the film, it is lyrical and hypnotic. If this is what the French think of as dysfunction, then I am moving to France, because dysfunction never tasted so sweet. This is one of the greatest movies ever made, and here's why:
The performance of Catherine Deneuve. This was the first time I'd seen her in a movie, but I'd heard alot, well not alot, but some things about her, and, no actually I saw her in a stupid movie with John Malkovich, but in this movie I saw the raw hypnotic power of her stage presence. She doesn't have to do anything, and thank God, because the naturalness of her performance comes through. The thing that sets this movie apart is that it doesn't try to hard. This movie subtracted much of what goes into a modern American film, such as half-hearted attempts at plot, drama, action, good acting, etc... and created a story based on substance and momentum. The actors are effortless in their perfect portrayals of this so-called dysfunctional family. Que vive Le Maisson Preferee.
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