davidm923
Quite a disappointment. I was primed for the film, but, oh well. What lovely reviews from most fellow IMDBers. But to me, people who watched this movie are reading more into the film that it merits.Sad to say this middle aged partnered gay man found it tiresome and not very interesting. There is scant character development, and very underwritten parts. The potential for some interaction between two of the men (anything, like sharing ideas, thoughts) fails to develop.The performances were natural enough. My boyfriend is European and has rescued me from the frequent indulgences of my beloved American cinema. The 80 minutes went by slowly. Alas.
Franco-LA
This movie is about a woman who had to raise the son of her own son and his wife, who ran away and left father and son to fend for themselves. The implication is made, but never cleared up, that she was not French. The film is shot on video and often has a the look and feel of a documentary, which hurts it with its story line and continuity. It often introduces topics early in the film only to bring the pay off far later on in the film. Rather than doing this intuitively and intelligently, in a manner that would bring the later moment into a realization that advances the essentially plot points, these payoffs simply appear as either distractions or attempts to wrap up lose threads before the filmmaker ran out of money (since he obviously couldn't run out of film). The film is not without some elements to recommend it but overall, it is not sufficiently cohesive as a narrative nor original and charming as a story to recommend it, when there are so many more interesting and worthwhile films in the IMDb database, both about the nature of loss and mourning, the rediscovery of close, familial ties, whether natural or created by individuals amongst themselves, or about how gays feel the need to create their own family bonds in place of the natural family which is denied them, for whatever reason.
Pasky
This film is so refreshing and touching... You have to see it! This is the story of Guillaume, 24 years old, who studies to be an opera singer. He tries to free himself from the love of two women: his mother, who just died, and his grandmother, who brought him up. The relationship between Guillaume and his granny is often stormy. Especially since Régine, the grand-mother, keeps on the balcony of her Parisian apartment an urn containing Guillaume's mother ashes, which goes against the dead woman's last wishes, who wanted them to be scattered in Scotland. A few other 'satellites' evolve around these two eccentric characters: Ben, a little boy who stays at Régine's from time to time, and who's fascinated by the mysterious urn, Maxime, the young guy who come to clean up Régine's apartment, and Serge, who's in love with Guillaume, but who doesn't seem to be able to express it... They're all so human (with a slight touch of 'Woody Allenish' humor, from time to time). It's never really sad, often very touching, and never boring. A must see!
Michael McGonigle
I saw this film at the 11th Philadelphia Gay Lesbian Film Festival. The titular grandson is gay, but nothing much is made of it in the film and it is certainly not the engine that drives the story.Guillaume is a petulant twenty-something who regularly visits his grandmother. While there, it seems that all they do is fight and snipe at each other, but all of this posturing simply masks a deep hurt they both feel over the early death of the boy's mother from breast cancer.Feeling abandoned by his mother, Guillaume takes it out on his grandmother who is eccentric in ways that drive the young man crazy. Still, they have a very strong bond and it is only through time and the intervention of a couple of other characters, the boy's older lover, a young gay student who takes a housekeeping position with the grandmother and a small, but very intelligent boy who the grandmother sometimes babysits that our hero, and I will call him our hero Guillaume finally takes his mothers ashes to Scotland to disperse them according to her final wishes.It is a wonderful, emotional moment. Filmed in a New Wave style, the film has the appearance of just happening before your eyes. Don't be put off by this gem. It takes a few minutes to get into, but once you are there, your in for a nice ride.
AD
