MovieChat Forums > Un dimanche à la campagne (1984) Discussion > A beautiful movie

A beautiful movie

posted 19 years ago by Greenteeth
7 replies | jump to latest

When I was a kid, on Sundays we would load up the station wagon and go out to our grandparents' houses; first my father's mother, then my mother's parents. We did this until us kids became teenagers. This movie is like an idealized picture of that part of my life.

All the parts of this film are beautifully rendered: the photography, the pacing, the successful but lonely father who badly misses his deceased wife, the dutiful, dull son with his stolid, respectable wife and two cute kids, and the unsettled, pretty daughter who is the light of her father's eye. The sadness in the movie is not overwhelming and does not take away from its charm.

[–] ubu-3 17 years ago

Unlike 99% of the movies, this one is a really "close-to-life" movie. I cannot compare it to many other movies, in a way it is closer to Proust's work. This is a true aesthetic experience. A complete unwaste of time.

Does anyone know what other movies could be as subtle, open, and beautiful, with almost nothing happening?

[–] Greenteeth 17 years ago

I like Eric Roehmer's movies. They are contemporary and very talky, but they are remarkably close to real life and I find them to be very interesting.

[–] davidgoesboating 17 years ago

Good call. I really liked this film, and I'm a big Rohmer fan. Some of his movies worth checking out are Claire's Knee, My Night With Maud, A Summer's Tale, Pauline at the Beach, Perceval and The Aviator's Wife among others.

I saw a couple of reviews which compared this to Ingmar Bergman's Wild Strawberries. I think you'd like that too, although that has a bit more of a melancholy tone than this film.

[–] ubu-3 17 years ago

True - I really like Bergman's "Wild Strawberries". And Rohmer's movies as well.
But otherwise, where can I find this kind of taste ?

Maybe in Renoir's movies ?

Oh, I found it also in a short by Alexander Payne, his part in the sketch film "Paris Je t'aime" is a marvellous moment of cinema.

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] BornFree-2 14 years ago

I was thinking exactly the same thing during the movie ! That it was really close to The Dead (wich i also loved).

I won't recommand Rohmer though, its pretty different. Wild Strawberries is a good call. Or any movie by Ozu, especially Tokyo Story and An Autumn Afternoon. Maybe The Go-Between by Losey aswell.

[–] Popcorngal (4321) 9 months ago

I was a teen when this came out, but but I never heard of it before. The costumes and cinetography is wonderful. It really captures the time period.