AllMovie

Daddy Nostalgia is a slow-paced, but moving and insightful film about family relationships, buoyed by exceptional performances from the three leads. There's one exchange in the film between Caroline (Jane Birkin) and Tony (Dirk Bogarde) that sums up the film's tone nicely. The ailing father, Tony, prone to reverie when speaking about his younger days, talks to his daughter, Caroline, about the screenplay she's working on, which he suspects is about him. He asks her to promise not to make it sentimental. She agrees to his request, adding, "but you are terribly sentimental." Daddy Nostalgia frequently verges on the sentimental, but this is more a function of accurately depicting these characters than trying to manipulate the audience. Director Bertrand Tavernier (Life and Nothing But), working from a script by his ex-wife, Colo Tavernier O'Hagan, strikes a melancholy tone of reminiscence and regret, with sporadic moments of intimate playfulness between Caroline and her parents. The film captures the pain and pleasure of these familial relationships -- the complexity of a grown daughter balancing her current emotional needs and the resentment and anger she feels toward the parents who neglected her as a child. Odette Laure, as Miche, Caroline's mother, and Bogarde deliver memorable performances, but Birkin is the soul of the film. Handed a strong role opposite equally talented actors, she portrays Caroline's emotionally tumultuous experience at her parents' seaside home with rare acuity. The lugubrious pacing may make some viewers impatient, but the film's honesty and humor, and its compelling performances should also make an impression.