How I Killed My Father

The first of Anne Fontaine's five films to be given a widespread release outside her native country, How I Killed My Father is a well acted, albeit very ambiguous drama, documenting the relationship between a successful middle-aged man and his prodigal father. Berling plays Jean-Luc, a well liked Versailles doctor who seems to have it all. However, when his father, Maurice (Berling) - who Jean-Luc assumed was dead - turns up, things go a little askew for the medic. After questioning his own relationship with said father, Jean-Luc begins to fret when his (unhappy) wife, Isa (Regnier) and Maurice develop a strong bond.

Another film where ambiguity is the king, How I Killed My Father is a stylish, extraordinarily well acted affair. The problem is also one of the film's major strengths. One is never quite sure whether the events unfolding on screen are really happening or that they are part of some elaborate daydream, which Jean-Luc has constructed in the wake of his father's passing. While this ambiguity serves the film well in some respects andndash; the shimmering camera work is glorious - it also manages to cloud the emotional impact of it, leaving the viewer a little confused about the narrative's fluency.