The Grocer's Son (2007)

Sick Product of a Sick System

Good movie but grossly overrated

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

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!

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.

I have seen one review here that described this movie as a "dud" and another stating... "All French movies are either about sex or sons reconnecting with their fathers. This one is mostly about the latter." I cannot agree with either. I do not believe all French movies are about either 'sex or sons and their fathers' but I do believe a lot are family orientated.This is a film based around a hard-working small town family who stumble and struggle through the same ups and downs that most of us have at one point or another with family and children, regardless of age, sex, ethnicity. So please do not miss this movie if you believe it to be just another about fathers/sons and/or sex, as you would be missing out on something very different.I couldn't say it was a dud in any aspect. Yes, there are flaws, it's not polished perfect but then again, neither are people and life. Because of this I found myself feeling more invested as a parent/spouse/sibling.The lush scenery and quaint village became characters unto themselves with their lush beauty and vibrant colors. I've not watched a movie for some time where I could say a vehicle became such a huge part of the story. However, I believe it to be the central part of this movie, the proverbial beating heart willing all to see what it sees and proving that sometimes all is not lost and it doesn't take much at all to have things back up and running.Eric Guirado has done a tremendous job of balancing the story and characters. It felt more of an ensemble piece to me. I read he'd spent time watching actual villagers and successfully as in most cases I wasn't sure who was an extra and who was a paid actor. If you've lived in a small village/town you'll surely appreciate the diversity.The only negative I have is although I loved the Deleted scenes and Outtakes, I couldn't help but want a longer 'Making Of' after the movie finished.It is definitely a movie I recommend you see and if you do, I'm sure most will find it as enjoyable as I did.

Loved this film. Maybe the last reviewer was out of the room at the time but all of the questions mentioned below WERE answered in the film as far as I'm concerned. I guess some people want more up front than French films are sometimes willing to give. The viewer is left to do a little brain work them self and that's fine by me. It's like any good novel - you don't have to be given all the answers all of the time - it leaves no room for the imagination. The scenery was gorgeous, the characters believable - what's wrong with being a male hairdresser in a small French village? And the unfolding of the relationships was as subtle as they often are in European movies. But if you don't like subtle and slow, don't go.