Reviews (7)

A Worthy Follow Up to My Father's Glory
My Mother Castle picks up where My Father's Glory Ends. Like its predecessor, it is a movie that really does not have a plot, but it has well developed characters, a beautiful setting, and wonderful music. In this film, the family visits a beloved vacation home in the South of France as often as possible. The mother Augustine is more the focus of this film, but Marcel's father also plays a significant role. We get a sense of how powerful his father's teaching impacted students when we meet one of his former students who is now an adult. In this film we see Marcel grow up a bit more. He still has a great friend in the country boy Lilli, a friendship which began in the first film. He also has his first crush on a rather eccentric girl. Perhaps the greatest moment in the film is when the family learns that Marcel will be able to attend a prestigious exam school. Marcel realizes that this will give him greater educational opportunities than his father ever had, but he also realizes that he may never be the wonderful person that his father happened to be.

I viewed this film prior to viewing My Father's Glory. This is not to say that My Mother's Castle is not a good enough film to stand on its own. The two films are nearly equal in all aspects. The high standards of the first film were applied to the second film, but since this film takes place after My Father's Glory, it will be less confusing to viewers if they have already met the characters in the first film.

Love, family, teachers and students
This is a film with no action, no violence, no sex, no nudity.
I have seen it 6 or 7 times by the last count.
Superb acting, superb scenery.
The story closely follows Marcel Pagnol's book, and that, by itself makes it worth watching in French. The mastery of the language that Pagnol exhibits, in combination with the sedulously researched historical perspective create a masterpiece.
Other reviewers already have told the story, I am not going to repeat their comments.
If you have children, watch this movie with them. The scene when the schoolteacher father is taking his children along for a stroll, and all the while teaching them is worth millions.
This is not only a coming of age movie, but also a historical snapshot on France at the turn of the century, when science and technology promised a world where everything would be possible.
Of course you should see "My father's glory" first to savor the complete richness and texture of this movie, but it only loses a little if you watch it separately.
Just get both, and be done with it. This is a movie you will watch several times anyway.
A little tragic at the end (this is a French film after all)but no more than the tragedy that was about to unfold in France twice in the next 30 years.

Narrative Account of a Boy's Desire...
The young boy Marcel spends every holiday with his family in their cottage in the hills of Provence. However, every time they leave Marcel wishes to go back to the hills and he is always daydreaming of the hills. As he daydreams he is picked to take the scholarship application test offered once a year by his school and this conflicts with his desires. The teachers in his school, including his father, keep their eyes on Marcel and quiz him constantly. However, due to the deteriorating health of his mother, his family must return to the hills frequently. This means that they will have to walk six miles every time they want to go to their cottage. One day on their way to the cottage, they meet an old student of Marcel's father. The ex-student offers to take them on a shortcut and later offers them a key that takes them through the shortcut, but this is somewhat illegal and it is against his fathers principles. After some consideration the father accepts and the dream of coming to the hills more often seems to be more solid. My Mother's Castle is a narrative account where the audience gets to know Marcel and his family through their actions and their dreams. As the audience follows the story, they are presented with numerous short stories in the family's life that are cleverly intertwined leaving the audience with a terrific cinematic experience.

Beautiful film with a touching final scene
A wonderful lyrical film of childhood and memory. The final scene is a touching finale to Pagnol's paen to his young mother. See both films in sequence if possible, but "My Mother's Castle" is capable of standing alone.

more pagnol-based excellence
A joyous and entertaining continuation of the story begun in "My Father's Glory." Although the focus is on the beautiful mother, the characterization of the father is just as loving and heartfelt as in the previous film. So good is this film that, even though the family relations are at the core of it and are depicted skillfully, we also learn something about broader French society at the time. And it is all so unforced and subtle. The two films together are a funny and uplifting human experience. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Idyll of Boyhood
This film is one of the most honest and beautiful accounts of family life and boyhood in the Auvergne and in Marseilles. The warmth of the Langudoc shimmers through the colours of the film as also through the lives of this happy family drenched in the browning sunlight in the last few years of the nineteenth and the first few of the twentieth century. This warmth is reflected also in the son Marcel's friendship with the young peasant boy, Lili, who modestly asks if he may keep the sailor suit which fits him. In a sense, this is a 'lower professional' childhood rather than the aristocratic one of the Tadzio in 'Death in Venice'. It is completed by a continuation film, equally wonderful, called 'Le Chateau de ma Mere' - and this, too is a must. The two together make for a wonderful winter evening and make you realise just what dross we are generally offered on the television.

Lavish, Beautiful, and Sentimental
My Father's Glory is the first of two films dealing with the novelist/filmmaker Marcel Pagnol's childhood. The film really does not have a plot. Marcel's parents Joseph, a beloved school teacher, and his mother Augustine, a dressmaker meet, fall in love, and get married. Soon afterward Marcel is born, as is his brother and sister. Marcel's family, along with his Uncle Jules and Aunt Rose, vacation in the South of France, and his father wins a hunting contest. On the surface there is not much to hold the film together. Yet the plot of the film is not what makes it so worthwhile. The film's chief strength is the way that each character is developed. We can see that Joseph is a good and descent man, a masterful teacher, and most especially a devoted father and husband. Young Marcel idolizes his father, and wants all others to realize the father's great qualities. The father is not perfect, and Marcel has questions about his doubt of all things religious. Marcel admires his mother as well, who is a nurturing and caring soul. The other major characters are both richly developed and varied.

The setting of the film is sumptuous. The small French town where Marcel and his family hail from seems realistic and the viewer can feel as if he/she has stepped back in time. The music adds to the film and perfectly blends with the scenes and characters.

Some may feel that the film is too saccharinely sweet. This can be an easy dismissal of a film that is unashamedly lavish, nostalgic, and sentimental. Such critics are wrong, however. The film shows Pagnol's appreciation for his parents, and how their good qualities played such a significant role in the man he would later be.

One of the best childhood films ever
This is, quite simply, one of the best films about childhood ever made. But then again, to write this film off as a film about childhood is too easy. This is a gorgeously filmed adaptation of Marcel Pagnol's memoirs of growing up and vacationing in Provence with his family. The cinematography is beautiful, and the cast is uniformly excellent. And as a real treat to film viewers, there are no sentimental or treacly moments that can often bog a film down. A friend noted that while I watched this film, I had a smile on my face the entire time. That's the best kind of film. This is followed by the equally stellar but more somber "My Mother's Castle."

"Le Gloire de Mon Pere". C'est bonne filme
"Le Gloire de Mon Pere" is one of the best films I have seen in a long time. The first time I saw it was in my french class. I thought it was cute and decided to see if the library had it, they did. After I saw it the second time I realised how good it is. The true story of Marcel and his father is unique for the 90's. I highly reccomend this film and its sequel "La Chateau de Ma Mere", the rest of the story of Marcel and his family. It has a sad ending but is worth it.

charming and uplifting
What a beautiful film! This is one of those films where everything works. The visuals are beautiful, the script spare and heartfelt, and the characterizations profound. Can Americans make films like this; where there is warmth and nostalgia but where the humor and the modesty keep sentimentality under control? Forget irony and cliches...this is wonderfully real and exciting. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Idyll of Boyhood
This film is one of the most honest and beautiful accounts of family life and boyhood in the Auvergne and in Marseilles. The warmth of the Langudoc shimmers through the colours of the film as also through the lives of this happy family drenched in the browning sunlight in the last few years of the nineteenth and the first few of the twentieth century. This warmth is reflected also in the son Marcel's friendship with the young peasant boy, Lili, who modestly asks if he may keep the sailor suit which fits him. In a sense, this is a 'lower professional' childhood rather than the aristocratic one of the Tadzio in 'Death in Venice'. It is completed by a continuation film, equally wonderful, called 'Le Chateau de ma Mere' - and this, too is a must. The two together make for a wonderful winter evening and make you realise just what dross we are generally offered on the television.

Lavish, Beautiful, and Sentimental
My Father's Glory is the first of two films dealing with the novelist/filmmaker Marcel Pagnol's childhood. The film really does not have a plot. Marcel's parents Joseph, a beloved school teacher, and his mother Augustine, a dressmaker meet, fall in love, and get married. Soon afterward Marcel is born, as is his brother and sister. Marcel's family, along with his Uncle Jules and Aunt Rose, vacation in the South of France, and his father wins a hunting contest. On the surface there is not much to hold the film together. Yet the plot of the film is not what makes it so worthwhile. The film's chief strength is the way that each character is developed. We can see that Joseph is a good and descent man, a masterful teacher, and most especially a devoted father and husband. Young Marcel idolizes his father, and wants all others to realize the father's great qualities. The father is not perfect, and Marcel has questions about his doubt of all things religious. Marcel admires his mother as well, who is a nurturing and caring soul. The other major characters are both richly developed and varied.

The setting of the film is sumptuous. The small French town where Marcel and his family hail from seems realistic and the viewer can feel as if he/she has stepped back in time. The music adds to the film and perfectly blends with the scenes and characters.

Some may feel that the film is too saccharinely sweet. This can be an easy dismissal of a film that is unashamedly lavish, nostalgic, and sentimental. Such critics are wrong, however. The film shows Pagnol's appreciation for his parents, and how their good qualities played such a significant role in the man he would later be.

One of the best childhood films ever
This is, quite simply, one of the best films about childhood ever made. But then again, to write this film off as a film about childhood is too easy. This is a gorgeously filmed adaptation of Marcel Pagnol's memoirs of growing up and vacationing in Provence with his family. The cinematography is beautiful, and the cast is uniformly excellent. And as a real treat to film viewers, there are no sentimental or treacly moments that can often bog a film down. A friend noted that while I watched this film, I had a smile on my face the entire time. That's the best kind of film. This is followed by the equally stellar but more somber "My Mother's Castle."

"Le Gloire de Mon Pere". C'est bonne filme
"Le Gloire de Mon Pere" is one of the best films I have seen in a long time. The first time I saw it was in my french class. I thought it was cute and decided to see if the library had it, they did. After I saw it the second time I realised how good it is. The true story of Marcel and his father is unique for the 90's. I highly reccomend this film and its sequel "La Chateau de Ma Mere", the rest of the story of Marcel and his family. It has a sad ending but is worth it.

charming and uplifting
What a beautiful film! This is one of those films where everything works. The visuals are beautiful, the script spare and heartfelt, and the characterizations profound. Can Americans make films like this; where there is warmth and nostalgia but where the humor and the modesty keep sentimentality under control? Forget irony and cliches...this is wonderfully real and exciting. ... Read more

Description

COLOR. With PIERRE RICHARD, JEAN ROCHEFORT, MIREILLE DARC, BERNARD BLIER. When was the last time your sides were split by laughter? This frothy French farce - one of the most acclaimed comedies of recent years - will do it for you. The head of a spy network misleads a much-too-ambitious assistant into believing that a completely harmless violinist - "the tall blond man with one black shoe" - is actually a superspy. The assistant, his army of henchmen and one gorgeous henchwoman fall all over each other in their misguided attempts to discover the musicians allegedly vital secrets. They follow his every move, check each of his possessions (a discarded candy wrapper, a broken filling, even his toothpaste), search and bug his apartment, tap his phone and analyze his most inane conversations. Through all of this, the empty-headed blond man hasnt an inkling that anything is going on - although he is mildly puzzled when he finds shaving cream in his toothpaste tube and!vice versa. Driving around Paris in a flower shops van, the spies listen intently for significant clues in a recording of the violinists ludicrous foreplay dialogue with his best friends wife - in which she asks him to "play horsey," among other things. The best friend, happening by on his bicycle, overhears the tape and, thinking that his wife is inside, having perverted sex with a florist, pursues the van through the streets. There are many other mad chases, as well as searches for vanishing bodies, tastefully naughty adult situations (including seminude scenes), a hilarious concert where the orchestra is completely thrown off by the befuddled violinist and plenty of witty dialogue. Much of this is accompanied by a lively, infectious panpipe melody. In all, an elegantly filmed, outrageously delightful romp that has already taken its place among the screens great comedy classics. Dubbed in English. 90 minutes. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

The magically disappearing video tape ---
This is my second purchase of this video. My first copy was loaned to a friend, who loaned it to a friend, who circulated it among all their family and friends, who have passed it on out of my reckoning. Have some friends over for snacks, and play this in series with the Hollywood rip-off, "The Man with One Red Shoe". THIS, the original version, has class.

One Of The Greatest Comedies In Existence
This movie has perfect casting and I definitely would not change a single thing aboout it. Also the score provides excelent atmosphere to the movie and is full of beautiful flure melodies. The movie opens as Toulous, a Counter-Intelligence chief notices that one of his helpers, colonel Milan, is becoming a bit too power hungry after a drug scandal involving Milan and in an attempt to find out what he is up to, a random person (Pierre Richard) is chosen in the crowd at an airport and is told to be an international spy who has come to investigate the scandal... What happens next is a brilliant storyline with incredible comedy situations. I own both this movie and the sequel (Anyone who is a fan of the James Bond series will see many references and parodies in the sequel) on video and recommend both movies to EVERYONE!!!

One of the funniest French comedies of the 70's!
This is one great, classic, comedy! When it was released in 1973 it became such a hit in France that it was quickly released internationally, where it became a major hit in the US as well. The story of an unwitting schnook who is thought to be a superspy by warring factions of the French secret service provides ample fodder for farce, both slapstick and otherwise. This original version is MUCH better than the American remake starring Tom Hanks and Tom Arnold, and the casting is so perfect as to take your breath away. Among other things, I defy any male with a pulse to keep his jaw in place when the stunningly beautiful Mireille Darc (later to be Alain Delon's girlfriend) turns around in a certain black dress [grin].

For trivia buffs, it is interesting to note a few facts such as (1) the part of the conductor during the concert scene was a cameo by the director, Yves Robert; (2) the score was one of the first showcases for the pan-flute music of Zamphir; and (3) the film was such a hit that it spawned an immediate sequel (The Return of the Tall Blond Man).

Great Comedy - But Need DVD edition
Robert's comedy equals the best in the farce and satire. The script is well honed, and the direction is is sharp and subtle -not a wasted moment. But why is this classic stuck with the VHS and Laserdisc formats - is there any way to a DVD release?

Get this one
Hey, so it is sub-titled, big deal! If this becomes available again, snap it up. One of the best French farces post WWII. This is one of those movies that you see something more each time that you watch it. Great Gallic gaffaws. You will not be disappointed.. Cheers ... Read more

Reviews (7)

A Worthy Follow Up to My Father's Glory
My Mother Castle picks up where My Father's Glory Ends. Like its predecessor, it is a movie that really does not have a plot, but it has well developed characters, a beautiful setting, and wonderful music. In this film, the family visits a beloved vacation home in the South of France as often as possible. The mother Augustine is more the focus of this film, but Marcel's father also plays a significant role. We get a sense of how powerful his father's teaching impacted students when we meet one of his former students who is now an adult. In this film we see Marcel grow up a bit more. He still has a great friend in the country boy Lilli, a friendship which began in the first film. He also has his first crush on a rather eccentric girl. Perhaps the greatest moment in the film is when the family learns that Marcel will be able to attend a prestigious exam school. Marcel realizes that this will give him greater educational opportunities than his father ever had, but he also realizes that he may never be the wonderful person that his father happened to be.

I viewed this film prior to viewing My Father's Glory. This is not to say that My Mother's Castle is not a good enough film to stand on its own. The two films are nearly equal in all aspects. The high standards of the first film were applied to the second film, but since this film takes place after My Father's Glory, it will be less confusing to viewers if they have already met the characters in the first film.

Love, family, teachers and students
This is a film with no action, no violence, no sex, no nudity.
I have seen it 6 or 7 times by the last count.
Superb acting, superb scenery.
The story closely follows Marcel Pagnol's book, and that, by itself makes it worth watching in French. The mastery of the language that Pagnol exhibits, in combination with the sedulously researched historical perspective create a masterpiece.
Other reviewers already have told the story, I am not going to repeat their comments.
If you have children, watch this movie with them. The scene when the schoolteacher father is taking his children along for a stroll, and all the while teaching them is worth millions.
This is not only a coming of age movie, but also a historical snapshot on France at the turn of the century, when science and technology promised a world where everything would be possible.
Of course you should see "My father's glory" first to savor the complete richness and texture of this movie, but it only loses a little if you watch it separately.
Just get both, and be done with it. This is a movie you will watch several times anyway.
A little tragic at the end (this is a French film after all)but no more than the tragedy that was about to unfold in France twice in the next 30 years.

Narrative Account of a Boy's Desire...
The young boy Marcel spends every holiday with his family in their cottage in the hills of Provence. However, every time they leave Marcel wishes to go back to the hills and he is always daydreaming of the hills. As he daydreams he is picked to take the scholarship application test offered once a year by his school and this conflicts with his desires. The teachers in his school, including his father, keep their eyes on Marcel and quiz him constantly. However, due to the deteriorating health of his mother, his family must return to the hills frequently. This means that they will have to walk six miles every time they want to go to their cottage. One day on their way to the cottage, they meet an old student of Marcel's father. The ex-student offers to take them on a shortcut and later offers them a key that takes them through the shortcut, but this is somewhat illegal and it is against his fathers principles. After some consideration the father accepts and the dream of coming to the hills more often seems to be more solid. My Mother's Castle is a narrative account where the audience gets to know Marcel and his family through their actions and their dreams. As the audience follows the story, they are presented with numerous short stories in the family's life that are cleverly intertwined leaving the audience with a terrific cinematic experience.

Beautiful film with a touching final scene
A wonderful lyrical film of childhood and memory. The final scene is a touching finale to Pagnol's paen to his young mother. See both films in sequence if possible, but "My Mother's Castle" is capable of standing alone.

more pagnol-based excellence
A joyous and entertaining continuation of the story begun in "My Father's Glory." Although the focus is on the beautiful mother, the characterization of the father is just as loving and heartfelt as in the previous film. So good is this film that, even though the family relations are at the core of it and are depicted skillfully, we also learn something about broader French society at the time. And it is all so unforced and subtle. The two films together are a funny and uplifting human experience. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

The magically disappearing video tape ---
This is my second purchase of this video. My first copy was loaned to a friend, who loaned it to a friend, who circulated it among all their family and friends, who have passed it on out of my reckoning. Have some friends over for snacks, and play this in series with the Hollywood rip-off, "The Man with One Red Shoe". THIS, the original version, has class.

One Of The Greatest Comedies In Existence
This movie has perfect casting and I definitely would not change a single thing aboout it. Also the score provides excelent atmosphere to the movie and is full of beautiful flure melodies. The movie opens as Toulous, a Counter-Intelligence chief notices that one of his helpers, colonel Milan, is becoming a bit too power hungry after a drug scandal involving Milan and in an attempt to find out what he is up to, a random person (Pierre Richard) is chosen in the crowd at an airport and is told to be an international spy who has come to investigate the scandal... What happens next is a brilliant storyline with incredible comedy situations. I own both this movie and the sequel (Anyone who is a fan of the James Bond series will see many references and parodies in the sequel) on video and recommend both movies to EVERYONE!!!

One of the funniest French comedies of the 70's!
This is one great, classic, comedy! When it was released in 1973 it became such a hit in France that it was quickly released internationally, where it became a major hit in the US as well. The story of an unwitting schnook who is thought to be a superspy by warring factions of the French secret service provides ample fodder for farce, both slapstick and otherwise. This original version is MUCH better than the American remake starring Tom Hanks and Tom Arnold, and the casting is so perfect as to take your breath away. Among other things, I defy any male with a pulse to keep his jaw in place when the stunningly beautiful Mireille Darc (later to be Alain Delon's girlfriend) turns around in a certain black dress [grin].

For trivia buffs, it is interesting to note a few facts such as (1) the part of the conductor during the concert scene was a cameo by the director, Yves Robert; (2) the score was one of the first showcases for the pan-flute music of Zamphir; and (3) the film was such a hit that it spawned an immediate sequel (The Return of the Tall Blond Man).

Great Comedy - But Need DVD edition
Robert's comedy equals the best in the farce and satire. The script is well honed, and the direction is is sharp and subtle -not a wasted moment. But why is this classic stuck with the VHS and Laserdisc formats - is there any way to a DVD release?

Get this one
Hey, so it is sub-titled, big deal! If this becomes available again, snap it up. One of the best French farces post WWII. This is one of those movies that you see something more each time that you watch it. Great Gallic gaffaws. You will not be disappointed.. Cheers ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Salut l'artiste ("Hail the Artist") opens with a jarring comic juxtaposition: Marcello Mastroianni, as King Louis XVI, strolls the stately halls of the Palace of Versailles. Then he lights a cigarette and makes a phone call. We soon realize that he's a movie actor on a break between takes. Salut l'artiste has plenty of that sort of droll humor, but it is also much more than that. Mastroianni is Nicolas Montei, a hack actor who barely ekes out a living going from one humiliating, ridiculous job to the next. He and his partner, played with great good humor by Jean Rocheforte, race to the theater every night just in time for their entrance, whereupon they are both promptly shot and killed. Then they hustle to their next gig, in a strip joint, as the comic illusionists The Mysterious Boys. Half the time their employers can't even come up with the money to pay them.

Montei, like so many, is addicted to this disheartening, unremunerative existence. (We can't help but wonder: was Mastroianni himself making a sly commentary about the profession that made him so rich and famous?) Montei's home life is no better. An inveterate womanizer who can't commit to anyone, when he's with his mistress he longs for his ex-wife, and vice versa. As his mistress tells him, "You have an act for everyone, all of them bad. You're nobody for nobody." What's amazing about this film is that the immortal Mastroianni is utterly credible as a mediocre actor whose life is a sad sham. He looks uncomfortable in his skin; his famous good looks hang on him like an ill-fitting suit. This bittersweet comedy stays in one's thoughts long after the credits roll. (The haunting harmonica theme is by virtuoso Toots Thielemans.) --Laura Mirsky ... Read more