How I Killed My Father (French: Comment j'ai tué mon père) is a 2001 French thriller drama film directed by Anne Fontaine.
| How I Killed My Father | |
|---|---|
 French film poster | |
| Directed by | Anne Fontaine |
| Written by | Jacques Fieschi Anne Fontaine |
| Produced by | Philippe Carcassonne |
| Starring | Charles Berling Michel Bouquet Natacha Régnier |
| Cinematography | Jean-Marc Fabre |
| Edited by | Guy Lecorne |
| Music by | Jocelyn Pook |
Production companies | Ciné B France 2 Cinéma |
| Distributed by | Pathé (France) New Yorker Films (USA) |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Budget | $5.2 million[1] |
| Box office | $1.7 million[2] |
Plot
editJean-Luc, an established gerontologist, has not had any contact with his father, Maurice, for many years and thinks he is dead. Jean-Luc lost touch when his father left his family to work as a physician in Africa.
Without notice, the father reappears. He is bankrupt and moves into his son's home for several days. He annoys Jean-Luc with compliments that sound like accusations. Or is it Jean-Luc that always hears irony? His wife likes the senior immediately, and even Jean-Luc's younger brother accepts him. Jean-Luc would like to kill his father but...
Cast
edit- Charles Berling as Jean-Luc
- Michel Bouquet as Maurice
- Natacha Régnier as Isa
- Stéphane Guillon as Patrick
- Amira Casar as Myriem
- Hubert Koundé as Jean-Toussaint
- Karole Rocher as Laetitia
- François Berléand as The patient
Reception
editThe review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 89% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 44 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "How I Killed My Father is a penetrating character study of father-son ties".[3] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 78 out of 100 based on 18 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[4]
Elvis Mitchell of The New York Times said that "[the film is a] kind of murder mystery, but eventually the only victim is the audience's interest -- the picture is uncompromising and inauspicious".[5]
Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly commented that "[t]he script is a steady accretion of small stabs to the heart, propelling the gorgeous performances of Berling, Regnier, and especially the 76-year-old French cinema veteran Bouquet, whose every faint smile is killing".[6]
Ty Burr of The Boston Globe wrote "Hushed but scalpel-sharp drama, a [film] that'll probably send men in the audience home much quieter than they arrived".[7]
References
edit- ^ JP. "Comment j\'ai tué mon père (How I Killed My Father) (2001)- JPBox-Office". jpbox-office.com. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
- ^ "Comment j'ai tué mon père". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
- ^ "How I Killed My Father (2001)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
- ^ "How I Killed My Father Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
- ^ Mitchell, Elvis (August 23, 2002). "Film Review: Turning Up Unexpectedly, Old Dad is Far From Dead". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
- ^ Schwarzbaum, Lisa (March 17, 2020). "How I Killed My Father". Entertainment Weekly.
- ^ Burr,Ty (December 19, 2003). "This 'Father' poses a frightening figure". The Boston Globe. Boston.com. Retrieved 12 July 2021.