Back To Normandy (2007)

It's a bit too convenient to credit Philibert's film with Proustian significance, but this particular remembrance has been constructed with similar profundity.

The doc becomes an ode to the film the cast collectively made and iterates what power and range a camera can have in front as well as behind the scenes.

The testimony of Normandy’s subjects is always fascinating; Philibert proves that not all directors should wade in the same river twice.

With Back to Normandy, a nostalgic travelogue with philosophical aspirations, director Nicolas Philibert not only returns to the scene of a crime but the scene of a movie shoot.

Intriguing and occasionally moving film with a strong central idea and some engaging interviewees.

Granted, Philibert’s free-roaming approach is as languid as a weekend ramble. But his warm, tender, patient film finds much to move and chew on in the mulch and mire of rustic matters.

A generous portrait of a community, past and present, reflecting on their unexpected contribution to the cinema.