Jamie passion and passionfruit!

Olivier Assayas gives us an assured and sympathetic look at the issues involved in selling off family property when a parent dies and in particular a rustic country house which the family has enjoyed over the years and the collection of art inside which is related to the father of the tribe.  Is this the end of a family legacy?  What effects on a family will it have to lose this centre?  Assayas treats this dilemma with taste, calm and perception to give us a moving and low key movie that is thought provoking and enjoyable to watch.  It is also a look at how the old customs in France are disappearing as the country becomes part of a globalised world.  For it is the children abroad who want to sell and the one who has stayed in France who wants to keep the place.  A look at the end of an era if you will.  La Binoche continues to show how much she has grown with a character which demonstrates her ability to be physically different on screen and Charles Berling handlesone or two scenes beautifully.  A very correct film without reaching heights of greatness.

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