Summer Hours

I finally sat down to watch some IFC on demand and realized my chance to see Olivier Assayas' criticically lauded Summer Hours was passing me by at an alarming rate. So, I watched it.

It was fantastic.

An artist matriarch dies, leaving her beautiful estate, a gorgeous summer mansion full of rare and coveted art pieces, to her three grown children, all of whom are living very different lives. The film is mostly about them deciding what to do with said estate, and how they deal with letting it go.
I've only seen a couple of other Assayas movies (Demonlover and Boarding Gate, both greatly underloved), but to me Summer Hours felt like a film by the same man even though the tone and content were radically different.
All of my favorite moments took place at the summer estate. Assayas creates a beautiful paradise that is completely separate from the real world. Even when the next generation, previously shown as almost apathetic to the house, have a big sleazy teenager party there, it retains its magical atmosphere. And you can tell they feel it.

I can't recommend this film enough. It is a wonderful character piece about dealing with the past that is so moving and engaging all the way through.

(And should I do the number rating thing? I'm not sure. We shall experiment.)

9/10

(Maybe next time I'll do the decimal thing as well?)