Renoir (2013)

Simply Perfect

Please don't spend money on this.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

To experience this movie at full it is suggested to recall that Auguste Renoir was one of greatest artist ever and one of the creators of the XX century visual perception. Also it will be an advantage to know that his second son, Jean, was one of the greatest filmmakers that ever existed. Renoir is set in a time lag of few months in the wonderful environs of a farmhouse at the French Rivera. This film is the entrapping of this period in this particular place. The farmhouse is owned by Auguste Renoir and it is his place in the world. Life in the house hold is routinely established and predicted. A group of loyal women dedicate to the accommodation, feeding, cleaning, transport and assistance of Auguste who is suffering of an unkind rheumatic arthritis which has him severely handicapped, in spite of his condition he is determined to keep painting incessantly. A young woman, Andree, interrupts this inert equilibrium. She comes as a model for the painter. She is hired and stayed in the ample house but she is not able to accept the routine and way of life of the household, she is an independent soul. Auguste son, Jean, returned from the war as a wounded soldier, he is depleted of dreams or plans for the future. Andree, with her lust for life, becomes significant for both father and son. This is the story background of Renoir but what really tells us the story of the film is the place, the farmhouse in Le Collette. Its different rooms, its kitchen, the surrounding grassy terrain, the trees, the cloth lines, the nearby areas: the sea, the thick forest of high trees, the stream, the waterfall the gate to the property , the road to the gate. A sensitive, inquisitive and intelligent camera has followed and captured the lives of the people populating and interacting with this place, integrating the presence of the wind and the rotations of the light and the umbrellas which the women play with. The images were built with visually intense scenes. Angles, lighting and editing were used in a painterly mode of short brush strokes and with the calibration of short takes where conversations were cut to continue an emotional atmosphere. The apparently isolated and homogeneous landscape of the south of France was pierced with some visuals of angst expressing the terrible war occurring not far from there. Only once the camera left the landscape of Le Collette to follow Andree who was in a Cabaret. This short scene is shot with the same intensity and quality than the rest of the movie but with a certain judgment to the contrasting context. The cinematography and editing were essential and unmatched, the set decoration, production design and costume design transpired truth to the period and the music complemented the beauty of the scenes. The acting was wonderful in what I think was a very strict, disciplinary work because of the historic reality of the characters. Christa Theret as Andree was inspiring and convincing as an independent, feisty, needed to be kept, young woman. The master story teller was the director, Guilles Bourdos; I suppose he had a great determination in shooting this movie in the way it was completed. It is for the most part a visual story and sometimes moviegoers yearn for a more verbally explanatory story. He handled the elements of the film with great ability and talent to favor the audience with a great experience.

An interesting, complex, revealing story about the relationship between the painter, Renoir, one of his models, Andree, and one of his sons, Jean.Jean Renoir returns to his father's house to recover from a wound obtained during the First World War. The painter's favoured model gradually grows close to Jean, which in turn provides us with an insight into the relationship between father and son as well. We see the beginnings of Jean Renoir's interest in filmmaking.Beautifully filmed. A little aimless at times. Could have had a few more dramatic moments.

In theory, this should be one of my dearest films. It concerns sensuous urge at the level of obsessive spirituality. A way of continually falling in love that is itself worth falling in love with.It concerns painting and is intended to be presented in a painterly way. The setting is a fantasy for many men: being lovingly cared for by a coven of dedicated women so that you can indulge as an artist and be celebrated.But most of all, it is structured as what I call a folding. It is a collection of images about making images. It is also a film about the making of a significant filmmaker.These three things proceed simultaneously, driven by a single woman. The setup of the story is similar to the much superior "La belle noiseuse (long version):" In that film, you can see the model's body be enriched by how it is seen. We *see* it being seen and how. The woman in that case is rather ordinary outside the story, but her side and the surrounding film weave seduction successfully. We get it, all the many mysteries evoked.Not so here. We do understand what is being inferred, in part because characters speak about it. But we never enter the level where flesh dissolves into and dissolves our life. There is disappointment all around and it is too easy to blame the actress who is the focus. She never transcends. But this is less her fault than the filmmaker's. He simply doesn't give us watcher's souls to step into.Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

Renoir (2012) written and directed by Gilles Bourdos, tells the story of the aging painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir (Michel Bouquet), his young model Andrée (Christa Theret), and his son Jean (Vincent Rottiers).Andrée is a free spirit. She has no problem posing in the nude, but she makes it clear to everyone that she is a paid model. She has no intention of posing for the honor of it, nor is she ready to become a cook or a maid, as have other models before her.Naturally, Jean is drawn to the beautiful young woman, and the plot revolves around the relationships among and between the three main characters.This is an extraordinarily beautiful movie, filmed on the scenic Côte d'Azur. War is raging elsewhere in France, but life is peaceful in this region. The pace of the film reflects the pace of life at the time--quiet and slow. This is a film worth seeing, based on historical fact, and suggesting what motivated the younger Renoir to become the extraordinary film director that he was. For some reason, the IMDb weighted average of this film is a dismal 6.6. (The ratings themselves are much higher, but the weighting system brings the number down.) Don't be discouraged by the low rating. This is a movie worth seeking out and seeing. It will work better in a theater, but, if necessary, see it on DVD. It will repay your viewing.