a film by Olivier Assayas
The divergent paths of three adult siblings collide when their mother, heiress to her uncle's exceptional 19th century art collection, dies suddenly. Left to come to terms with themselves and their differences, Adrienne a successful New York designer, Frédéric an economist and university professor in Paris, and Jérémie a dynamic businessman in China, confront the end of childhood, their shared memories, background and unique visions of the future.
Hélène Berthier, the niece of a famous painter, has devoted her life to the preservation of her uncle's legacy. Her house contains a vast collection of his paintings and sketches, antique furniture and fine art objects including several works by Carot. Hélène's family have gathered to celebrate her seventy-fifth birthday and she has decided it is now time to discuss their inheritance after she dies. Whilst Frédéric, her eldest, expects that the family will want to preserve the house and its collection intact, Hélène is under no such illusion. For her it symbolises the most important things in her life – the love she has for her deceased uncle, her memories, her secrets – and she knows that when she dies this very personal significance cannot be preserved.
After Hélène's death her three children return again to the house and following the funeral have to confront the issue of her estate. The sentimental Frédéric, the only sibling still living in France, proposes that he, with his wife Lisa, oversees the preservation of the treasured family heirlooms. Jérémie however explains that his business and family commitments are likely to keep him and his wife Angela in Asia for the foreseeable future. Whilst they would derive no benefit from keeping the house, his own financial share of the inheritance has now become vital to his future. The equally pragmatic Adrienne then announces that she and her partner James are about to marry and that with her life centred entirely in the United States, she too feels no desire to retain the family home in France.
Adrienne no longer thinks in terms of geographical borders and her brother Jérémie is now a part of the modern global economy, the very economy that Frédéric opposes and does not believe in. Frédéric's wish to protect the family's possessions is based entirely upon their symbolic and sentimental value to him, whereas for Adrienne and Jérémie the objects of the past, however beautiful, can hold no personal significance. Clearly shocked and disappointed, Frédéric has to come to terms with this inevitability, completely unforeseen by him despite Hélène's anticipation of, and preparations for, the disposition of her assets. Torn between issues of heritage and modernity, Hélène's children must now question the value of preserving their cultural roots in a world of globalisation, and abandon the remaining material links between each other and their childhood.
An insightful, heartfelt and thought-provoking drama examining the themes of generational change and cultural identity. The film is beautifully photographed and features some extraordinary works of art from the collections of Musée de Louvre and Musée d'Orsay.
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