MAY FOOLS Movie Review

Milou en Mai
Milou in May

A bourgeois family gathers at a country estate for the funeral of the clan's matriarch, while the student riots of May 1968 unfold far from the peaceful sanctuary. The political effects are felt even here, however, for the national strikes which have seized the country are making it impossible to bury the woman on schedule. As the family members wait, the squabbles—some petty, some long-festering—begin to blossom. Few among the family members mourn the old woman's death, with the exception of her grown son, Milou (Michel Piccoli), who leads a pastoral existence tending grapes on the estate. Milou's daughter (Miou-Miou) also fails to reflect a note of sadness over the loss of continuity; she suggests, to her father's dismay, that the estate be divided in three. Louis Malle's May Fools, a portrait of individuals collectively experiencing personal upheaval against the backdrop of social upheaval, is a warm and delicately sketched pastorale made between the far more intense Au Revoir les Enfants and Damage. The most self-consciously Renoir-ish of Malle's films, it may also be one of the most underrated, precisely because of that unavoidable comparison. Chances are you'll enjoy it if you refuse to compare it to anything, and instead take in the setting, the food, the wine, and the relaxed performances of Michel Piccoli, Miou-Miou, and Harriet Walter. The original title is Milou in May.

NEXT STOP … My Dinner with André, Vanya on 42nd Street, Picnic on the Grass

1990 (R) 105m/C FR Michel Piccoli, Miou-Miou, Michael Duchaussoy, Dominique Blanc, Harriet Walter, Francois Berleand, Paulette Dubost, Bruno Carette, Martine Gautier; D: Louis Malle; W: Jean-Claude Carriers Louis Malle; C: Renato Berta.M: Stephane Grappelli. Cesar Awards ‘91: Best Supporting Actress (Blanc). VHS, LV ORI, FXL, FCT