Summer Hours

Three children and their families are spending some time at the country house of their mother, whose uncle was a famous painter. The house is full of his possessions, unchanged since his death: many sentimental items and some of great value, including two Corots. End of Act One. She dies, and they gather again to discuss what to do with the estate. One son wants to keep the house and contents. Another son and the daughter are too involved in other things. They want to sell off. Tax considerations and lack of ready cash complicate things. This could easily have been a standard shouting match among siblings, but the writer/director, Oliver Assayas, doesn’t go that route. The kids get along, more or less, though all are affected in some ways when it is all going. It’s an actor’s movie, and very good. ) (France, 2008) Three children and their families are spending some time at the country house of their mother, whose uncle was a famous painter. The house is full of his possessions, unchanged since his death: many sentimental items and some of great value, including two Corots. End of Act One. She dies, and they gather again to discuss what to do with the estate. One son wants to keep the house and contents. Another son and the daughter are too involved in other things. They want to sell off. Tax considerations and lack of ready cash complicate things. This could easily have been a standard shouting match among siblings, but the writer/director, Oliver Assayas, doesn’t go that route. The kids get along, more or less, though all are affected in some ways when it is all going. It’s an actor’s movie, and very good.