MartinHafer "The Grocer's Son" is a film that many folks will give up on, as it is slow and very deliberately paced. I know I was very tempted to turn off the movie and am glad I didn't. It is worth your time.When the film begins, Antoine's father has had a heart attack and is in the hospital. It soon becomes apparent that Antoine (Nicolas Cazalé) has only come to the hospital for his mother's sake...as long ago he left home and swore to stay away due to his relationship with his dad. Despite all this, he reluctantly agrees to leave the city and move back home, temporarily, to help his mother with the family business. I was surprised by this because although they own a small general store in the country, the business also has a small truck that travels about selling to the locals outside their homes. Antoine is terrible at his job. He is surly, bitter and a jerk. His lady friend Claire, is a very nice and sweet girl...but after a while Antoine's bitterness push her away. Is there any hope for Antoine or his really screwed up family?As I mentioned, this is a slow film...very, very slow. However, the story comes together very nicely and believably at the end...making the journey worth your time and trouble.

Syl This French film is a character driven film about a young man who returns home to his small French village where the father runs a small grocery store and has a delivery service to the rural areas. At first, he is resistant to serving mostly older customers. For his clientèle, he slowly warms up to them. His friend, Claire, joins him for awhile studying for school. She brings complication between him and his brother. Both sons are grown men who have serious problems. Their father is in the hospital while his son runs the family business. Their mother is quiet, loving, and kind. The family comes together. Their family business isn't the supermarket. You can relate too! I enjoy it!

herakleitos100 Boring movie. Uninteresting plot; uninteresting characters with none of whom the audience can sympathize. This is the worst of Gallic excess: why do the French think they can get away with producing movies without plot or characters? Scenes with "meaningful glances" and "heartfelt smiles" are substitutes neither for plots in which something actually happens that makes sense nor rich dialogue with significant intellectual content. Boring music. The supposedly free-spirited character Claire is smug, annoying and again devoid of interest.The only good things going for this film are the scenery and the acting.Don't waste your time with this film.

guy-bellinger Despite its very simple plot (the story of a son taking over the daily round of his sick grocer father), 'Le fils de l'épicier' qualifies as an enriching film experience. Helmer Eric Guirado never relies on twist plots, car chases or visual effects… and yet the viewer is captivated and leaves the theater fulfilled and happy. This is no small feat, so how does the co-writer/director Guirado accomplish this object? It's easy for me to analyze how he went about it (although I guess it must have been very difficult for him to make such a thin story interesting). What actually makes this film particularly effective is its fine blend of documentary and fiction. A real ethnographer, the director captures real life to perfection. The grocer's son's customers are real people, what they say is what everyday fellows do in everyday life. Moreover most of the people playing villagers and customers are not professional actors but true people re-enacting what they do day after day. Simple, old chaps, rarely honored by the big screen. All rings true in 'Le Fils de l'Epicier' and this all the less surprising as Eric Guirado followed three different grocers in their daily rounds for months and months before filming. He DOES know his subject and you get an impression of truth throughout.However, supposing 'Le fils de l'épicier' had been a hardcore documentary, it might not be as exciting as it is. For what little fiction is added to the documentary aspect lives up to it and finally makes the story and the characters catch on even better. For instance Guirado examines with impressive relevance the tense relationships in the family. He also explores convincingly the serious theme of finding one's place in life and in society. Just like the customers mentioned before, the characters are true to life and Eric Guirado, never condemning any of his characters, tries to make us understand all of them, including the most unpleasant ones. A humanistic approach Jean Renoir would have approved of. Add to this a knack for comedy. Whenever it is possible Guirado eases the tension thanks to well-timed and staged funny sequences, like the painting of the van, the crazy appearances of Lucienne, etc.) There are good professional actors too ( handsome brooding Nicolas Cazalé; refreshingly unaffected Clotilde Hesme; Jeanne Goupil, Joel Seria's former sexy muse turned plump-fifty-year-old-mother-with-a-heart-of-gold ; always unsettling Daniel Duval as the unforgiving father).To put it in a nutshell, in 'Le Fils de l'Epicier' the documentary side enhances the fiction and vice versa. Go and see it. You won't be disappointed.