Synopsis
A young man who lives with his mother and has never known his father, heads off to look for him. He finds a cynical and Machiavellian man who works as a publisher in Paris. After he attempts to kill him, he finds filial love thanks to his uncle.
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Cast
- Victor EzenfisVincent
- Natacha RégnierMarie
- Fabrizio RongioneJoseph
- Mathieu AmalricOscar Pormenor
- Maria de MedeirosViolette Tréfouille
- Julia Gros de GasquetBernadette
- Jacques BonnafféLe paysan
- Christelle ProtPhilomène
- Adrien MichauxPhilibert Duchene
- Sophie DelageCharlotte Sentombot
Recommendations
- 90
The New Yorker
This arch, bold, and tender transposition of elements of the Nativity to the cramped secular life of a high-school student in current-day Paris is as much of an emotional wonder as a conceptual one. - 83
IndieWire
In Green’s world, every moment is an unsolvable mystery that requires debate. - 80
CineVue
The Son of Joseph is nothing short of marvelous. A modernised tale of literal Biblical proportions that will make viewers reconsider what defines paternity, family, and their place in the world. But don't worry: that's a good thing. - 80
The Guardian
The Portuguese Nun (2009) was a gem of gentle comedy, and his new drama, The Son of Joseph, has the same droll innocence and lovability. With its carefully controlled, decelerated dialogue, it is weirdly moving in just the same way. - 80
Variety
No one behaves quite like a human being in Eugene Green’s Le Fils de Joseph, yet a soulful sense of humanity emerges from their heightened declamations anyway. - 80
The Hollywood Reporter
The constant combination of highbrow and lowbrow elements is undeniably French but also very effective. - 75
Slant Magazine
The insistence of Green’s gaze throughout the film encourages us to look beyond the mechanisms of speech and behavior at the more uncanny movements of the conscience. - 70
Screen Daily
Open-minded audiences will discover a surprisingly refreshing, smart, intelligent and often entertaining, tongue-in-cheek take on the nature of family bonds, using references from the Old and the New Testament, with modern characters nicely fitting the mythical moulds without suspecting there is anything even remotely symbolical or divine about their existence.
