Summer Hours

Summer Hours is a 2008 French drama film written and directed by Olivier Assayas. It is the second in a series of films produced by the Musée d'Orsay, after Flight of the Red Balloon. In the film, two brothers and a sister witness the disappearance of their childhood memories when they must relinquish the family belongings after the death of their mother. The film was a critical triumph in the United States. Plot On a summer day in the country, at the home of the widowed Hélène Berthier, who has dropped her married name of Marly, her three children, their spouses, and all her grandchildren assemble for her 75th birthday. Her preoccupation is over what will happen to the house and the valuable contents accumulated by her uncle Paul Berthier, who was a noted artist and to whom she was devoted. She hopes the children will decide amicably among themselves. Shortly after she dies, and the three heirs do not agree. While Frédéric, the eldest, wants to keep the house and contents as somewhere for the whole family, his two siblings just want a few mementoes and everything else turned into cash. Adrienne lives in New York with an American man, while Jérémie and his wife have made their home in China. As Hélène made no legal provision, tax on the estate will be heavy and the lawyer suggests reducing it by donating artefacts to the State. The Musée d'Orsay agrees to take some precious items for its collection, following which the remaining contents are auctioned and the house sold. Before the new owners take over, Frédéric's daughter Sylvie asks all her school friends there for a final party and for one last time the place is full of happy young people. The faithful housekeeper takes fresh flowers to Hélène's grave.