NR | 1h 17m | Drama | 2020
After reading the rather overused premise of “Back Home” (“Revenir” in French), I was still drawn to it, given my love for French cinema. The short 77-minute runtime suggested a brisk, well-paced watch.
From the slow-moving opening scenes, I wondered how the story could effectively unfold in such a short span. By the time the credits rolled, I found the film to be a mix of both strengths and shortcomings.
Based on Serge Joncour’s 2013 novel “L’amour sans le faire,” the film follows Thomas (Niels Schneider), who left his family’s isolated farm in the Drome region of southeastern France over a decade before after a bitter rift with his father, Michel (Patrick d’Assumcao).
Buried in the Past
Thomas’s first encounter is with Mona (Adèle Exarchopoulos), his late brother’s widow, and their young son, Alex (Roman Coustère Hachez). Mona still lives at the farm with Michel. She has stayed behind after Mathieu’s tragic death and is dealing with the fallout of the farm’s financial collapse. As Thomas reconnects with the land and its people, he begins to learn the truth about his brother’s death and the local community’s dire financial struggles.While his father remains emotionally distant and his mother’s health deteriorates rapidly, Thomas becomes closer to Mona and Alex. He steps into a fatherly role for the boy and starts to realize how much his own past has shaped him.
Fractured Bonds
As the narrative unfolds, the film shifts from the unease of Thomas’s return to a more intimate, slower pace. He spends much of his time helping Mona juggle work and raising Alex. These quiet, everyday moments shine. Thomas becomes a surrogate father figure to Alex, who is energetic, demanding, and vulnerable.
These moments of tenderness contrast with Thomas’s strained interactions with Michel. The father-son relationship remains fractured, making their scenes together painful to watch. Despite the impending death of the family matriarch, the two men seem too far apart to mend the rift. As the family navigates this looming loss, the film avoids easy resolutions, and Michel’s unresolved conflict grows increasingly frustrating.
As the film nears its conclusion, suppressed emotions come to a head through a series of crises. Though intense, these moments feel somewhat contrived. The script forces the characters to confront issues a little too conveniently in order to propel the drama, and this abrupt escalation disrupts the film’s subdued tone.
The decision to end on a brief, open-ended (yet somewhat hopeful) note also makes the film feel incomplete. While its nuanced performances and Victor Seguin’s rich cinematography remain engaging (the countryside is absolutely gorgeous), the late turn toward melodrama feels out of place.
I thoroughly enjoyed the earlier, intimate approach in the movie, which had a sense of grounded realism. But the rather forced ending undermined that, making the emotional payoff less effective.
“Back Home” captures the rawness of family dynamics and the weight of rural isolation. Its conclusion, however, doesn’t fully deliver on its delicate build-up, leaving viewers wanting just a few more minutes to wrap up the emotional arc.
