| A Sunday in the Country | |
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| French | Un dimanche à la campagne |
| Directed by | Bertrand Tavernier |
| Written by |
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| Based on | Monsieur Ladmiral va bientôt mourir byPierre Bost |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Bruno de Keyzer |
| Edited by | Armand Psenny |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | AMLF |
Release date |
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Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Box office | 2.4 million[1] |
A Sunday in the Country (French:Un Dimanche à la Campagne) is a 1984 Frenchdrama film directed, co-written, and co-produced byBertrand Tavernier, based onPierre Bost's 1945 novelMonsieur Ladmiral va bientôt mourir. The film starsLouis Ducreux,Michel Aumont,Sabine Azéma,Geneviève Mnich, andMonique Chaumette. It exploresfamily dynamics in a clan on the eve ofWorld War I.
The film was theatrically released in France on 11 April 1984, and was selected to compete for thePalme d'Or in the main competition section at the37th Cannes Film Festival, where Tavernier was awardedBest Director. It received generally positive reviews from critics. The film wonBest Actress for Azéma,Best Adapted Screenplay, andBest Cinematography from a total of eight nominations, includingBest Film, at the10th César Awards. It was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the42nd Golden Globe Awards and the38th British Academy Film Awards.
The story takes place during a Sunday in the late summer of 1912. Monsieur Ladmiral is a painter without any real genius and in the twilight of his life. Since the death of his wife, he lives alone with Mercedes, his servant. As every Sunday, he invites Edouard (whose wife makes him go by that name, instead of "Gonzague"), his son, a steady young man, who likes order and propriety, accompanied by his wife, Marie-Thérèse and their three children, Emile, Lucien and Mireille. Later that day, Irène, Gonzague's sister, a young non-conformist, liberated and energetic woman, upsets this peaceful ritual. While loving and mostly respectful of Ladmiral, she does not think too highly of most of her father's art.
On the review aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 100% based on 7 reviews, with an average rating of 8.4/10.[3]Janet Maslin ofThe New York Times wrote that "A Sunday in the Country is exquisite - purposefully and almost painfully so - from beginning to end" and stated it "is one of the director's very best films, acted as beautifully and thoughtfully as it is staged."[4]Paul Attanasio ofThe Washington Post described it as "a glistening, ornately constructed movie in which everything's of a piece" and said that "what's extraordinary aboutA Sunday in the Country is the way Tavernier, with a few strokes, limns nuanced, authentic characters."[5]Sheila Benson of theLos Angeles Times called the film "moving and masterly" and commented that "a felicity and intelligence infuse every particle of the film, its clothes, its art direction, editing, photography and music. The actors are superb."[6]Roger Ebert gave the film 4 out of 4 stars, feeling Tavernier's story was "graceful and delicate" and wrote that "A Sunday in the Country has a haunting, sweet, sad quality. It is about this family, and many families. It is told by Tavernier with great attention to detail, and the details add up to the way life is."[7]
The sound track features excerpts fromGabriel Fauré chamber works: the third movement of theString Quartet in E Minor, Op. 121, second movement of thePiano Trio in D minor, Op. 120, and first movement of thePiano Quintet No. 2 in C minor, Op. 115.[8]