Synopsis
The comfortable daily routines of aging Parisian actor Gilbert Valence, 76, are suddenly shaken when he learns that his wife, daughter, and son-in-law have been killed in a car crash. Having to take care of his now-orphaned grandson, he struggles to go on with his lifelong acting career like he's used to. But the roles he is offered -- a flashy TV show and a hectic last-minute replacement in an English-language film of Joyce's Ulysses -- finally convince him that it's time to retire.
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Cast
- Michel PiccoliGilbert Valence
- Catherine DeneuveMarguerite
- John MalkovichJohn Crawford
- Antoine ChappeyGeorge
- Leonor BaldaqueSylvia
- Sylvie TestudAriel
- Leonor SilveiraMarie
- Jean KoeltgenSerge
- Isabel RuthMilkmaid
- Mauricette GourdonGuilhermine
Recommendations
- 100
Christian Science Monitor
Piccoli gives one of the most nuanced performances of his distinguished career, but the primary star of the movie is de Oliveira, who unfolds the story with unfailing skill and sensitivity. - 90
Washington Post
Viewers who come to this delicate creation with expectations of just another quaint or sad story are in for a surprise. - 90
Los Angeles Times
By far the most approachable of the director's recent films, with an emotional depth that's true to life and a streamlined narrative that for long stretches barely contains a word. - 75
New York Daily News
With this moving, contemplative portrait of an artist who has suddenly become an old man, de Oliveira refuses to patronize either his hero or his audience. - 75
New York Post
Veteran French star Michel Piccoli is superb as an aging actor named Gilbert Valence. - 75
San Francisco Chronicle
A famous French actor using his art to work through the loss of his wife and daughter in a car accident. The strategy works, at least for a while. - 75
Chicago Sun-Times
There are a few movies where you can palpably sense the presence of the director behind the camera, and I'm Going Home is one of them. - 70
Variety
Elusive and elliptical as it is, this is one of the most accessible films in Oliveira's recent repetoire.
