THE FATHER OF MY CHILDREN

Based on a true story, this is superior French melodrama about the demands, sacrifices and ultimate endurance of love. The eponymous father and loving family man, Grégoire, produces critically well-regarded but commercially unsuccessful films. His response to impending bankruptcy is heartbreakingly simple, but how will the family survive? This kind of lucid emotional honesty is rare in contemporary cinema, and the director and cast deliver the goods with aplomb. Sensitive, engaging cinema for adults; and for many critics, best film of the year.

Director: 

Mia Hansen-Løve

France 2009 110m