A Sunday in the Country


A Sunday in the Country is a 1984 French drama film directed, co-written, and co-produced by Bertrand Tavernier, based on Pierre Bost's 1945 novel Monsieur Ladmiral va bientôt mourir. The film stars Louis Ducreux, Michel Aumont, Sabine Azéma, Geneviève Mnich, and Monique Chaumette. It explores family dynamics in a clan on the eve of World War I.
The film was theatrically released in France on 11 April 1984, and was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or in the main competition section at the 37th Cannes Film Festival, where Tavernier was awarded Best Director. It received generally positive reviews from critics. The film won Best Actress for Azéma, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Cinematography from a total of eight nominations, including Best Film, at the 10th César Awards. It was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 42nd Golden Globe Awards and the 38th British Academy Film Awards.

Plot

The story takes place during a Sunday in the late summer of 1912. Monsieur Ladmiral is a painter without any real genius and in the twilight of his life. Since the death of his wife, he lives alone with Mercedes, his servant. As every Sunday, he invites Edouard, his son, a steady young man, who likes order and propriety, accompanied by his wife, Marie-Thérèse and their three children, Emile, Lucien and Mireille. Later that day, Irène, Gonzague's sister, a young non-conformist, liberated and energetic woman, upsets this peaceful ritual. While loving and mostly respectful of Ladmiral, she does not think too highly of most of her father's art.

Cast

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 100% based on 7 reviews, with an average rating of 8.4/10. Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote that "A Sunday in the Country is exquisite - purposefully and almost painfully so - from beginning to end" and stated it "is one of the director's very best films, acted as beautifully and thoughtfully as it is staged." Paul Attanasio of The Washington Post described it as "a glistening, ornately constructed movie in which everything's of a piece" and said that "what's extraordinary about A Sunday in the Country is the way Tavernier, with a few strokes, limns nuanced, authentic characters." Sheila Benson of the Los Angeles Times called the film "moving and masterly" and commented that "a felicity and intelligence infuse every particle of the film, its clothes, its art direction, editing, photography and music. The actors are superb." Roger Ebert gave the film 4 out of 4 stars, feeling Tavernier's story was "graceful and delicate" and wrote that "A Sunday in the Country has a haunting, sweet, sad quality. It is about this family, and many families. It is told by Tavernier with great attention to detail, and the details add up to the way life is."

Music

The sound track features excerpts from Gabriel Fauré chamber works: the third movement of the String Quartet in E Minor, Op. 121, second movement of the Piano Trio in D minor, Op. 120, and first movement of the Piano Quintet No. 2 in C minor, Op. 115.