Mr. Landmiral is a retired painter in his 70s. He lives in a secluded mansion in the countryside with his maid. Since it is Sunday, he is looking forward to the visit of his two children: his son Gonzague, who brings his three kids with him; and his daughter Irene. While Mr. Landmiral is polite towards Gonzague, he lacks love for him, and feels distand towards the latter's wife, Marie-Therese. On the other hand, Mr. Landmiral clearly adores Irene, and they take a car drive to a nearby festival in order to dance. Back in the mansion, Irene gets a phone call about her lover and hurriedly leaves the estate. Gonzague is persuaded to stay a little longer, but in the evening he departs with his family, as well. Back in his mansion, Mr. Landmiral is left alone, observing his unfinished painting.
A gentle, quiet, unassuming little art-film, "A Sunday in the Country" is an unusually minimalist film for director Bertrand Tavernier. At first glance, it is puzzlingly simple: a family visits their grandfather at his mansion, they leave, the end. Indeed, this is not a 'high concept' film, and even if the viewers missed it, they would not have missed something important in life. And yet, just by being there, this film has some sweetness and fondness, which enriches cinema, despite being a dime a dozen. Tavernier offers observations about these characters, almost as if he presents his family video during a picnic. Beneath the surface, a lot of clever truths about life and human relations are told, mirroring the films themes of missed opportunities and a quiet sadness about the imperfect life. The main protagonist, grandfather Landmiral, clearly favors his daughter Irene over his son Gonzague, and seems to be disappointed with himself that he acts like that, instead of loving them both equally.
In one departure, during a festival, Landmiral admits to Irene that he contemplated changing his style in order to try to make it as a painter, but thought it was already too late at his age. He then tells her: "I painted as I felt, with honesty. If I didn't achieve more, I at least glimpsed what I could have done." It seems he only could have confessed this to her. Tavernier shows this exception of a family visit, presenting it as the majority of the storyline, in order to highlight the real routine of the protagonist, who at the end of the day returns to his lonely existence in the empty mansion, waiting for the next Sunday when his family will visit him. Some vignettes are occasionally amusing, such as the one at the table, where grandpa Landmiral tells the anecdote how Canius Fannius forbade people of raising chickens in the open in Rome, causing his granddaughter to burst in laughter. "Sunday" is a little bit overhyped. Too many of its sequences seem thin, episodic, vague, some of which even as 'throw-away' material. However, Tavernier did craft at least one masterful scene: in it, Irene is silently standing on the balcony, with the garden in the background, the camera drives back into the room to the image of her deceased mother, sitting on the chair, who tells her: "When will you stop asking so much of life, Irene?" That moment is a small gem, not only due to its purposeful technique (the camera driving back symbolizes driving back in time), but also due to it capturing some universal feeling of a confined existence in humanity, and clearly displays how big moments arrive from small things in life.
Grade:+++
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