"Summer in Provence" is like a delicate light music, playing over the lavender kingdom.
The daughter eloped with a man, had not been in contact for 17 years, and suddenly came to the phone one day to tell her three children that they were going to spend a summer in Provence, as a father, what do you feel? When Paul went to the train station to pick up his grandchildren, he was full of anger, grabbed his luggage, and turned around.
Come and see these grandchildren, the eldest grandson Adrian is an Internet addicted youth, two eyes always staring at the computer, complaining that the internet speed in the countryside is too slow, of course, looking at the backyard of the family, "If, there can be a swimming pool here, how good it would be", he hopes so. Granddaughter Leia nailed earrings, nose rings, and a headscarf, complaining about the hot weather and poor hygiene. As for the youngest grandson, Theo, he was very cute, but deaf and mute.
"Does this car have air conditioning?" Leia asked.
"Open the window and you'll have it," Replied Paul.
Driving through country lanes, looking out the window, the provencal wilderness is really beautiful, but, that's the tone of this summer.
The first meal of the family began a dark war, eggplant stewed beef bones, what is the problem? Oh, the little grandson Theo thought that killing cattle was too cruel to swallow. Leia claims to be a "native eater" who eats organic food and does not like industrially farmed food. As for Adrian, he could not bear the taste of garlic, but the Provencals ate garlic. Well, Leia was going to have tea, Adrian ate the banana, and left Paul alone and sat there, dazed...
The dark war is obviously not over, every detail seems to be detonated, and finally after Paul deliberately let the dog disturb Leia's lunch break, the grandchildren want to leave, the grandfather does not stay, the next is a complete emotional catharsis, but the end is not a collapse, but reason, the grandfather needs the grandson, because his family business needs someone to inherit, the grandchildren need grandpa, because they can't go anywhere but this, not to mention, among them, there is a grandmother, everything will eventually settle, the summer of Provence, this , just really started.
The program is very rich, although Avignon is a small town in Provence, but there is a very noisy bazaar, through the alleys, into the square, thriving, the town's residents are also very kind, living their own life. The rows of stalls in the market are full of handicrafts, pottery, fruits and vegetables, flowers, clothes, it is really dazzling, there are many tourists, many liquor stores, rich drinks, a group of townspeople leaning on the open bar, cup by cup, just a golden daylight, it is an afternoon. It seems that every town always has a widow legend, and when this beautiful widow comes, a group of drunkards hum a little tune.
The ancient Bull Running Festival begins, the knights appear on white horses, the cowboys follow, the townspeople sing familiar songs, a noisy cutscene, the opening is over, then the dance, then, the various stories... Adrian became obsessed with the widow, and Leia hooked up with a little brother who seemed to have a leg with the widow again. Paul beats Reia's Mandarin Duck, and Adrian is hooking up with two Swedish girls...
The summer in Provence cannot always be so calm, even a light music has her climax, in this seemingly unremarkable summer, the director really plays the life of the protagonist Paul, first his relatives , the return of the only daughter and grandson , and then, the director cleverly introduced his emotions and career. Emotion, the arrival of that magical band, the cause, is a mysterious letter.
The band were his best friends, accompanying him through the most important years of his life, because Adrian secretly registered Paul for him on Facebook, so these close friends followed the map, the frame roared, and Paul and his wife were stunned and tearful. Friends who have been missing for many years get together, and in the evening, they drink under the tree and reminisce about the past, talk about Paul's past, outline the trajectory of his life, of course, sing very emotionally, with the vicissitudes of an old man, interpreting a euphemistic love song. Of course, they also danced, and danced very happily, just like when they were young and crazy. Finally, they also wept, for their lost youth, for Paul's brother who died early...
The plot of the mysterious letter is very abrupt for the audience, but it also highlights the director's clean and neat style, just as in the whole play, there is not a single superfluous picture, not a single superfluous line. In the discourse environment of the whole play, in fact, the plot of this letter does not need to be laid at all, a rickshaw mail truck came like this, handed Paul a letter, Paul heard that it was from the Ministry of Culture, did not even dare to read it himself, handed it to his wife, the wife trembled and opened her hands, as expected, Paul won the first prize of the Olive Oil Exposition, which was Paul's lifelong wish! He suddenly lost his concentration, and ran to the olive garden alone, touching the olive trees where he had lived with him all his life...
Jean Renault is a superstar, with the coldness of "This Killer Is Not Too Cold", interpreting the warmth of "Summer in Provence", without any delay, rain and silence. Although the whole play is less than two hours, but the emotional conflict is extremely fierce, Paul's love and hate for his daughter, the love and resentment for his grandsons, is already full of tension, and then, suddenly piled up decades of friendship, a lifetime of dreams, so that his emotions in the whole play have been in a continuous rampage, but let Renault but swing the clouds and water, easy to write, the audience is carried by his emotions, unconsciously wandering in the landscape of Provence.
The whole movie does not have a single frame of lavender, Roselyn Bursch does not direct many plays, but dares to make such a decision, Avignon's iconic papal palace is also no trace, it can be seen that this is not a movie about Provence, this is a movie about Roselyn Bursch, even about Provence, it is also Roselyn Burch's Provence, she loves the market there, she loves the wilderness there, she loves the olive trees there, so she hit the camera there, you may have what you like, but, She told her story.
Leia finally eloped with the little brother.
Paul took his gun and rode on a motorcycle to chase, and his companions and Adrian, afraid that he would slip up, hurried to keep up—the friends told Paul that the guy was a drug dealer. At a small stream, they caught him, Leia had been shot, smoked psychedelics and fell asleep there, and Paul drove the drug dealer away with a gun.
The summer in Provence is finally coming to an end, the daughter comes to the train station to pick up the grandchildren, after 17 years, Paul finally sees his daughter again, they talk a lot, Paul wants her daughter to come home, her room is still the same as when she left, she stayed there, the daughter said: What about the children? Where to sleep? Paul hurriedly said: They can sleep in the attic. The daughter said: She remembers that there were big spiders in the attic. Paul laughed: There are big spiders there. Afterwards, both laughed.
Paul and Leia talk about love, and Raya says, "Now let her go to hell!" But Paul insisted that Leia believe her.
Paul told Adrian that he had decided to leave olive tree estates to him.
Theo was a deaf-mute child, and Paul loved him, and loved to take his hand and walk under the olive tree, telling him the story of the manor, and drawing it with his hands.
The children were leaving, and Paul said to them: It was the most beautiful summer of his life.