The Thorn in the Heart (2010)
Average Rating: 5.3/10
Reviews Counted: 30
Fresh: 16 | Rotten: 14
Michel Gondry's directorial style is as bewitching as ever, but his intensely personal subject matter may leave viewers wondering why The Thorn in the Heart didn't stay in the family.
Average Rating: 4.7/10
Critic Reviews: 9
Fresh: 3 | Rotten: 6
Michel Gondry's directorial style is as bewitching as ever, but his intensely personal subject matter may leave viewers wondering why The Thorn in the Heart didn't stay in the family.
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Average Rating: 3.3/5
User Ratings: 403
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Movie Info
Filmmaker Michel Gondry turns from the playful semi-surrealism of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep to the personal story of a beloved family member in this documentary. Suzette Gondry is Michel's aunt and a retired schoolteacher; she educated children in rural communities in France from 1952 to 1986. While Suzette was committed to the education of all her students, she was a particularly close with one in particular -- her son, Jean-Yves, with whom she's had a
Apr 2, 2010 Wide
Aug 10, 2010
Oscilloscope Pictures
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All Critics (30) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (16) | Rotten (14)
Its rambling structure, peppered with lyrical, magical-realist asides, may not be to all tastes, but there's a sense that Gondry wants this to be more than an eccentric personal portrait...
Top CriticBrimming with affection and beautifully shot, but it builds a flimsy case for why it matters.
This is an extraordinary film.
As Mr. Gondry unfolds the story of her life, and of her inability to connect with the son she sees as weak, you can understand why it would consume a familyâ(TM)s interest, but youâ(TM)re not sure why he thought it would pique ours.
The film is well-constructed, as one would expect from Gondry, but it offers little reason for anyone outside the family circle to care about dear old Tante Suzette.
You can see that he meant it to be a toasty slice of nostalgia - and for Gondry, it surely is. For us, The Thorn in the Heart is more like a home movie of a family reunion we weren't invited to.
This is an interesting vignette. Even if nostalgia and flights of fancy cause Gondry to lose focus.
Captures the complexities at the heart of any family, with great generosity of spirit.
The exploration of the complicated relationship between mother and son provides the most compelling, emotionally grounded moments within the film.
Even as a fan, I found it very self-indulgent.
A touching insight into a family's inner workings.
We can recognize the portrait for its intimacy and appreciation of the challenges of a life lived, but it doesn't have any other real pull.
(Gondry's) playfulness keeps the film buoyant even as it delves into the thickets of emotional complications of family lives.
Gondry's masterful technique and subtle genre-tweaking almost make one forget that there isn't much drama to the story...
Anyone can make a crappy home movie, but it takes an especially self-important one to think anyone other than their own family wants to watch it.
Thorn is Gondry's most personal film, so personal as to be indulgent. But what emerges is his sincere affection for his aunt and a moving emotional experience.
Stylishly filmed, [but] too slight, lazy and not nearly as moving or insightful as it could have been with more piercing and provocative interviews.
Like a guest invited to a family reunion, you feel a bit uncomfortable, question why you're there and wonder how long the event will last.
The movie rarely flags, but it is hard to get past the notion that what is onscreen is nothing more than an artfully made home movie and that the Gondry family saga is no more interesting than that of the average loving, if somewhat dysfunctional family.
So-so documentary about filmmaker Michel Gondry's gregarious elderly aunt and her reminiscences of family and long years teaching kids in rural France. Clearly a joy for nephew Gondry and his aunt, but maybe this should have been kept en famille.
The film's opening -- a family dinner where favorite dishes are discussed -- suggests a liveliness that the film never fully realizes
Audience Reviews for The Thorn in the Heart
Super Reviewer
Michel examines Suzette's years as a school teacher and her life in rural France. During the course of filming the documentary, Michel unearths new family stories and uses his camera to explore them in a subtle and sensitive way.
THE THORN IN THE HEART had its world premiere screening in the official selection at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.
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Foreign Titles
- The Thorn in the Heart (L'épine dans le coeur) (DE)
- The Thorn in the Heart (L'épine dans le coeur) (UK)
