"My Father's Glory," also known in French as "La Gloire de mon père," is the first of a two part series of films based on famed playwright, novelist and filmmaker Marcel Pagnol's childhood memoirs set in turn of the century France. The sequel, "My Mother's Castle," is a continuation of the story of Marcel, Pagnol's protagonist, a young boy who grows up under the tutelage of his father, Joseph, a public school teacher in Marseilles.
The story is narrated by an adult Marcel who comments on his own foibles along with his father, a confirmed atheist who is always getting into heated discussions with Uncle Jules, a feisty civil servant and religious Catholic who is initially seen courting and eventually marrying Marcel's Aunt Rose. Lost in the mix is Marcel's angelic mother, Augustine, a seamstress, who has little to do in either film (although she is slightly more prominent in the sequel). In addition to Marcel's younger brother, Paul, Marcel befriends a country boy, Lili, once the family begins making frequent pilgrimages up to their rented villa in the Provence countryside.
Vincent Canby, in the original NY Times review, notes there are no harsh realities in Marcel's idyllic world: "Because it evokes a world from which all dread has been removed, it passes beyond the sentimental into the realm of mythic happiness. It doesn't avoid or soften harsh realities: they simply don't exist." While Canby is correct that "My Father's Glory" is "lightweight," this doesn't apply to the sequel, which I would say is considerably darker than "Act I."
While charming, "My Father's Glory" goes on for way too long. Simply put, the sequences involving Joseph and Jules as they attempt to prove their prowess as hunters, is a big bore. Scenes of Marcel's sojourn in the countryside with buddy Lili, also could have been cut considerably.
The film's stretched out climax, when Marcel leaves a note for his parents that he plans to run away, and then changes his mind, suggests to me that director Robert could have taken the highlights from the first part and combined it with the more compelling sequel and ended up with a very nice 2 ½ hour movie.
If you have the patience to get through Part 1, you'll still be impressed by the charming characters, all portrayed by a coterie of highly professional actors.
The story is narrated by an adult Marcel who comments on his own foibles along with his father, a confirmed atheist who is always getting into heated discussions with Uncle Jules, a feisty civil servant and religious Catholic who is initially seen courting and eventually marrying Marcel's Aunt Rose. Lost in the mix is Marcel's angelic mother, Augustine, a seamstress, who has little to do in either film (although she is slightly more prominent in the sequel). In addition to Marcel's younger brother, Paul, Marcel befriends a country boy, Lili, once the family begins making frequent pilgrimages up to their rented villa in the Provence countryside.
Vincent Canby, in the original NY Times review, notes there are no harsh realities in Marcel's idyllic world: "Because it evokes a world from which all dread has been removed, it passes beyond the sentimental into the realm of mythic happiness. It doesn't avoid or soften harsh realities: they simply don't exist." While Canby is correct that "My Father's Glory" is "lightweight," this doesn't apply to the sequel, which I would say is considerably darker than "Act I."
While charming, "My Father's Glory" goes on for way too long. Simply put, the sequences involving Joseph and Jules as they attempt to prove their prowess as hunters, is a big bore. Scenes of Marcel's sojourn in the countryside with buddy Lili, also could have been cut considerably.
The film's stretched out climax, when Marcel leaves a note for his parents that he plans to run away, and then changes his mind, suggests to me that director Robert could have taken the highlights from the first part and combined it with the more compelling sequel and ended up with a very nice 2 ½ hour movie.
If you have the patience to get through Part 1, you'll still be impressed by the charming characters, all portrayed by a coterie of highly professional actors.