Synopsis
Grégoire Canvel has everything a man could want. A wife he loves, three delightful children and a stimulating job. He's a film producer. Discovering talented filmmakers and developing films that fit his conception of the cinema-free and true to life-is precisely his reason for living. Yet his prestigious production company, Moon Films, is on its last legs. Too many productions, too many risks, too many debts. Storm clouds are gathering. But Grégoire ploughs on at all costs. Where will his blind obstinacy lead him?
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Cast
- Louis-Do de LencquesaingGrégoire Canvel
- Chiara CaselliSylvia Canvel
- Alice de LencquesaingClémence Canvel
- Eric ElmosninoSerge
- Olivia RossAnja, la stagiaire
- Sandrine DumasValérie, l'assistante de Grégoire
- Dominique FrotBérénice, la directrice de production
- Alice GautierValentine Canvel
- Manelle DrissBillie Canvel
- Jamshed UsmonovKova Asimov
Recommendations
- 90
The New York Times
A tale of cinema, a story about the agonies of trying to work outside the cinematic mainstream (even in France!). Yet what makes the movie so affecting is that it’s also a love story about a family. - 88
Chicago Sun-Times
The film's second half is the most touching, because it shows that our lives are not merely our own, but also belong to the events we set in motion. - 80
Los Angeles Times
What French writer-director Mia Hansen-Love has created is an extraordinarily empathetic humanistic drama, a film of love, joy, sadness and hope that understands how complex our emotions are and does beautiful justice to them. - 80
Variety
Marked by moments of remarkable stillness amid its emotional tumult, the film's classy, perceptive treatment of potentially maudlin material merits wider arthouse attention than it's likely to receive. - 80
Movieline
Hansen-Løve’s gifts for mood and eliciting controlled, empathetic performances are well-suited to her sensitive material, and ultimately overshadow the film’s difficult and uneven central characterization. - 75
The A.V. Club
It’s refreshing not to be led along or handled by a filmmaker, but given the almost-novelistic structure of The Father Of My Children--which juggles half a dozen or so major characters and follows their reaction to a crisis in obsessive detail--the movie could stand to be a little more dynamic. - 70
Boxoffice Magazine
The Father of My Children is a protean charmer just like Grégoire Canvel, the title character modeled on the late Humbert Balsan. - 60
Time Out
When The Father of My Children shifts focus to Grégoire’s wife (Caselli) and children (the eldest is beautifully played by De Lencquesaing’s actual daughter, Alice), Hansen-Løve’s hand steadies, and she reveals a true talent for intimate, behavioral observation.
