Renoir

Another film that I watched while crossing the Atlantic was the very beautiful French film Renoir. There are so many things that I liked in this movie that chronicles the final years of Auguste Renoir, the fabulous French post-Impressionist. It stars Michel Bouquet, Christa Theret, and Vincent Rottiers.

Renoir is set on the French Riviera in 1915, where the beautiful Renoir estate offers shelter from the horrors of the Great War. Auguste (Bouquet), already in his 70s, has just become a widower and is worried sick about his two sons at the front. Despite the deformation of his hands by rheumatoid arthritis, he still paints daily and looks after his youngest son, the mischievous Coco (Thomas Doret),

 The catalyst for this story is the arrival of Andree (Theret), an attractive girl with flaming red hair and porcelain skin. Andree becomes Renoir’s new muse and who also catches the eye of Auguste’s second son, Jean (Rottiers), who has been sent home to convalesce after a serious injury. It is Andree who stimulates Jean’s interest in cinema (she would later marry him and star in his first silent movies).

I highly recommend watching Renoir. It is a good movie.