"Home"
(2009, Ursula Meier, Switzerland/Belgium/France)
Average Contributor Rating:

“Home”, Ursula Meier’s latest film of French, Swiss, and Belgian heritage, stars Isabelle Huppert as Marthe, the matriarch of a very dysfunctional family. They’re dysfunctional, though, because of how comfortable they are in each others’ company, and they lead a happy-go-lucky life in front of a dormant motorway. However, when the road is re-opened and it begins to get busier and busier, they struggle to continue with their carefree lifestyle, and soon both the mental and physical harms of living near the roadway begin to take their toll on the once picture perfect family.

Anybody who has seen the trailer will have a pretty good idea as to what this film will be. In fact, it will probably be likened almost instantly to the American family comedies that have become all too popular over the last few years, like “Little Miss Sunshine” and “Sunshine Cleaning”. And, at least for the first half, it probably deserves those comparisons (although, I’d rather compare it to “Little Miss Sunshine” in terms of quality). It’s incredible buoyant, lauding the family’s closer-than-most relationships and how comfortable they are with one another. It’s also incredible witty, and the first forty minutes of this film are just a pleasure to watch. It rifles along at an incredible pace, using a jazzy score to amplify the pleasant feel, and having the five lead actors (in addition to Huppert, there’s Olivier Gourmet as Dad Michel, Adélaíde Leroux as Judith, Madeleine Budd as Marion, and Kacy Mottet Klein as Julien) virtually dance around the screen. “Home” also does a good job at showing of their naivety, particular the kids’. Judith is happy to sunbathe all day, away from prying eyes, and Julien doesn’t even know what tar is. It almost comes to a surprise that they don’t live in a windmill.

However, around half way through the film, there’s a huge shift in tone, which takes a few minutes to get used to, but is both required and well-done. Humour begins to disappear with the introduction of the motorway, and soon the five souls are skulking around the house, angry at each other and going slowly, slowly mental. To just hear the premise you pretty much know what the themes explored are going to be (motorways and urbanization are bad, don’t you know), but the extent to which Meier is prepared to take it is unreal. Throughout the film, she’s easily able to display the traits associated with an anti-technology films, most notably dehumanization, paranoia, claustrophobia, and the destruction of nature. She does it wonderfully, using visual aids (like the scene in which the last concrete block is used to block out all light, and young Julien’s face becomes enveloped in darkness) to really get her point across in both a thoughtful and intelligent manner. Even though these themes are obvious, the way that Meier gets them across – going to the extremities in order to provide real impact – is quite wonderful.

And because of this extreme feel of the last hour, which I really wasn’t anticipating in any way, shape, or form, this subtle drama has an air of unpredictability to it, which you really wouldn’t expect from a film that – on the outset at least – fits well into that dysfunctional family subgenre. And that’s thanks to the writing team (deep breath, Antoine Jaccoud, Olivier Lorelle, Ursula Meier, Gilles Taurand, Raphaelle Valbrune, and Alice Winocour), who manage to avoid the clichés (both of said subgenre, and of a green peace propaganda film). Meier is also wonderful as a director, creating a film with a unique style and some truly breathtaking shots, most notably the light streaming in – bit by bit – as Huppert’s Marthe takes a sledgehammer to the concrete blocks that fortify them, before breathing deeply. The cast is universally solid, most notably Isabelle Huppert who is mystifying, enigmatic, and completely engaging in an emotional context. Kacey Mottet Klein also deserves a special mention, being at times utterly hilarious and – at others – totally devastating. His character arc is perhaps the most damning, discussing how technology and urbanization withdraws the innocence and naivety out of our children.

It’s a very good film, but it’s not a perfect one. There’s certainly aspects of melodrama here and there, and at times you wonder if it could be tightened up a bit here and there. The score also suffers in the final half, after all of the jazz has ran out and where left with mystical, questioning tones, which only take away from the mystique of some of the film’s more abstract sequences. But still, for the most part it’s a clever and unpredictable film, and one of the better dramedies of the year so far. The creative team is excellent, and it’s visually stunning (often reminiscent of Terrence Malick, in fact), so – if it’s playing anywhere near you – I’d certainly recommend it as worth one hundred minutes of your life. One hundred little minutes, you can afford that, right? . JB. .