In the late 1910s, teenager Andrée Heuschling (Christa Théret) serves as a model for the great Pierre-Auguste Renoir (Michel Bouquet) on the French Riviera; when his son Jean (Vincent Rottiers) comes home from the war, Andrée falls in love… The filmmakers obviously found something intriguing in a portrait of a painter in his autumn years and his son, soon to become one of the world’s most admired movie directors, and the girl who becomes a link between them. Too bad that it doesn’t translate in a truly engaging or touching way, in spite of a gorgeous production that mirrors the Impressionist masterpieces.
2012-France. 111 min. Color. Directed by Gilles Bourdos. Book: Jacques Renoir (“Le Tableau Amoureux”). Cinematography: Ping Bin Lee. Cast: Michel Bouquet (Pierre-Auguste Renoir), Christa Théret (Andrée Heuschling), Vincent Rottiers (Jean Renoir), Thomas Doret, Romane Bohringer, Michèle Gleizer.
