A FLIGHT TO DENIAL
French film captures challenge of a stubborn parent losing his mind
FLORIDE ★★★1/2 Directed by: Philippe Le Guay Starring: Jean Rochefort, Sandrine Kiberlain, Laurent Lucas, Clément Métayer Running time: 110 minutes
There are many reasons to see French writer-director Philippe Le Guay’s Floride. In a movie world dominated by stories focused on young, beautiful people, this moving drama shines the light on one rather cranky 81-year-old man. That’s one plus.
It’s also a flick that will resonate with those of us who’ve spent serious time grappling with the challenges of helping out our aging parents.
But the real reason you have to see Floride is for the masterful lead performance from 85-yearold actor Jean Rochefort. He’s not necessarily that well-known to moviegoers who have not spent the past few decades watching French films, though you might recognize him if you saw that acclaimed documentary Lost in La Mancha. That’s the film about director Terry Gilliam’s failed attempt to shoot the project The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. Gilliam had cast Rochefort as Quixote in the film that was never made due to numerous problems.
Rochefort is simply amazing in Floride, playing this old guy whose mind is falling further apart every day. At first, we think he’s doing okay because it’s made clear that he’s pretending to be suffering from some form of dementia, just to torment the people around him.
But it gradually becomes apparent that he really is in bad shape, losing his memory and, sometimes, his grasp of reality. He can be a monster to others, most notably his long-suffering daughter Carole (Sandrine Kiberlain), who bears the brunt of most of his more horrific behaviour.
He belittles her, insults her and makes it his goal in life to refuse to follow any of the plans she makes for him. So your gut reaction is to dislike Claude but somehow Rochefort charms us even when he’s doing the most objectionable things.
Based on the play Le père, it captures a classic situation that many will recognize. Carole wants to pay people to help Claude out since he’s intent on continuing to live in his lovely villa in the countryside near Annecy and he’s digging in his heels, insisting he needs no help.
Carole’s adult son Robin (Clément Métayer) sometimes comes to sleep over to keep an eye on his grandfather, and maybe the person least amused by the damage the old man is inflicting on everyone is Carole’s boyfriend Thomas (Laurent Lucas).
The title comes from fact that Claude is obsessed with the Sunshine State. He insists that he be served only Florida orange juice and he talks incessantly about his other daughter Alice, who he believes lives there. The reality is that Alice died nine years earlier, a fact her dad refuses to acknowledge.
Throughout, the film cuts to scenes of him on the plane flying to Florida.
The depiction of the emotional tug of war between Claude and his daughter Carole is handled well by Le Guay, and both Rochefort and Kiberlain deliver powerful performances. But none of the other characters are nearly as well developed, notably Thomas and Carole’s son Robin. But the centrepiece is unquestionably this tense fatherdaughter relationship and that’s finely scripted. The film captures the frustration on both sides, but also the love that, in the end, triumphs over even their most bitter squabbles.