Grocer's Sun provides an interesting twist on the prodigal sun parable

A simple, poignantly observed Gallic twist on the Biblical parable of the prodigal son, the new film from French director Eric Guirado, co-written with Florence Vignon, also stands as a kind of cautionary present-day fable, a welcome reminder that life’s most rewarding pleasures and most enduring lessons are those that take root far from the maddening crowd. Francophiles and crossover fans of warmer, gentler imports like Il Postino will welcome the film with opening arms, even if it doesn’t quite measure up to the best of the genre.

After his father (Daniel Duval) —an itinerant grocer in a mostly rural part of the southern French region known as Provence—suffers a heart attack, estranged son Antoine (Nicols Cazale) makes the obligatory trek back from Paris, where he has struggled to make a life, bringing along a “friend” named Claire (Clotilde Hesme). Never particularly fond of his father’s provincial ways, Antoine is understandably reluctant to assume the older man’s rounds, which essentially consist of driving a refrigerated lunch wagon from village to village, where a primarily elderly—and particularly choosy—clientele would otherwise have little chance to stock their shelves. But with his hairdresser brother otherwise preoccupied with work, the responsibility falls squarely on Antoine. What is at first a taxing chore—his father’s customers aren’t particularly keen to the change, and Antoine is fairly poor at accommodating their needs—slowly starts to work out the kinks, thanks largely to the eventual involvement of Claire.

It’s not particularly hard to see where the film is going—the story is threadbare and its themes well-worn in the extreme—but Guirado’s genuine affection for the people of Provence and their genteel lifestyle engenders an honest warmth and coziness that carries the film breezily through its less-inspired moments. Technically competent, if unremarkable, with a lovely cast of colorful supporting players and superbly convincing leads, The Grocer’s Son is a timely reminder of a gentler time when even the smallest of French films could find open arms among American audiences. Those arms have been less welcoming in recent years, perhaps because imports like The Grocer’s Son have become so infrequent. Here’s hoping that Guirado’s film represents a thaw in the ice.

Distributor: Film Movement
Cast: Nicolas Cazalé, Clotilde Hesme, Daniel Duval and Stéphan Guérin-Tillié
Director: Eric Guirado
Screenwriters: Eric Guirado and Florence Vignon
Producers: Milena Poylo and Gilles Sacuto
Genre: Drama
Rating: Unrated.
Running time: 96 min.
Release date: July 18