A Sunday in the Country
Director: Bertrand Tavernier
Year Released: 1984
Rating: 1.5
Tavernier wanders into Merchant-Ivory territory and comes up with, well, a Merchant-Ivory film: a self-consciously "mature" picture about an old painter who spends the day with his son, daughter, and obnoxious grandchildren (the boys run amok while the girl is - for the most part - pitifully ignored - we're told she'll die before she's out of her teen years, so I guess spending excessive time with her is just pointless in the long-term). Voice-over reveals important facts in dry monotone - without it, the film lacks much-needed substance, as we would not know about the family's history or what they think about each other. If Tavernier thinks this is close to Bergman's Wild Strawberries in its 'study' of old age he's out of his head.
