'Bama Girl
Screened Monday, October 13, 2008
Synopsis
Depressed and suicidal, Paul (Romain Duris of Moliere and The Beat That My Heart Skipped) returns home after the breakup of his marriage to live with his divorced father (Guy Marchand) and a libidinous younger brother (Louis Garrel). While his carefree brother and doting father try in vain to cheer him up, a visit from his mother (Marie-France Pisier) seems to be the only thing that brings him any joy. Left in the House to talk to his brother’s girlfriends, he begins to realize that while things haven’t gone according to plan, his family is always there for him. Director Christophe Honore (Ma Mere) effectively evokes the work of the sixties Nouvelle Vague directors, notably that of Truffaut and Godard, addressing serious themes in alternating light and dark shades. Intriguingly described by Steven Jenkins for the San Francisco Film Festival as an “ode to the pleasures of love, family, and reading in bed.”
