''I'm Going Home'' (, ) is a 2001 film written and directed by

Manoel de Oliveira Manoel Cândido Pinto de Oliveira (; 11 December 1908 – 2 April 2015) was a Portuguese film director and screenwriter born in Cedofeita, Porto. He first began making films in 1927, when he and some friends attempted to make a film about Wor ...

. It premieres in

2001 Cannes Film Festival The 54th Cannes Film Festival took place from 9 to 20 May 2001. Norwegian actress and director Liv Ullmann was named Jury President for the main competition. Italian filmmaker Nanni Moretti won the ''Palme d'Or'' for the drama film '' The Son's ...

in the main competition.

Plot

The film opens in a theater where

Eugène Ionesco Eugène Ionesco (; ; born Eugen Ionescu, ; 26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre#Avant-garde, French avant-garde th ...

's ''

Exit the King ''Exit the King'' () is an absurdist drama by Eugène Ionesco that premiered in 1962. It is the third in Ionesco's "Berenger Cycle", preceded by '' The Killer'' (1958) and ''Rhinocéros'' (1959), and followed by ''A Stroll in the Air'' (1963) ...

'' is staged. Gilbert Valence, playing the King on stage, is a distinguished actor of theater. In his dressing room he receives the shocking news that his wife, daughter, and son-in-law have been killed in a car accident, and he must bring up their little boy on his own. As time passes, Valence is apparently over his grief. He busies himself with his daily life in Paris and, with help from his housekeeper, looks after his 9-year-old grandson Serge. We see that he plays

Prospero Prospero ( ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of William Shakespeare's ''The Tempest''. Character Twelve years before the play begins, Prospero is usurped from his position as the rightful Duke of Milan by his brother Antonio, ...

in a French language version of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...

''. As a grand old man of the theater, he turns down well-paying roles in low-brow television productions. However, when an American filmmaker John Crawford urgently needs an actor to play young Irishman

Buck Mulligan Malachi Roland St. John "Buck" Mulligan is a fictional character in James Joyce's 1922 novel '' Ulysses''. He appears most prominently in episode 1 (" Telemachus"), and is the subject of the novel's famous first sentence: "Stately, plump Buck Mu ...

, in a film adaptation of

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

's ''

Ulysses Ulysses is the Latin name for Odysseus, a legendary Greek hero recognized for his intelligence and cunning. He is famous for his long, adventurous journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan War, as narrated in Homer's Odyssey. Ulysses may also refer ...

'' to be shot in Paris (in English) in three days'','' he was pushed into accepting the role. The result of this obvious miscasting becomes apparent during the shoot, and Vance, sensing the language barrier, his ill-preparation and old age, finds himself saying "Je rentre à la maison" and leaving the film set.

Cast

Michel Piccoli Jacques Daniel Michel Piccoli (27 December 1925 – 12 May 2020) was a French actor, producer and film director with a career spanning 70 years. He was lauded as one of the greatest French character actors of his generation who played a wide vari ...

as Gilbert Valence *

Catherine Deneuve Catherine Fabienne Dorléac (born 22 October 1943), known professionally as Catherine Deneuve (, , ), is a French actress. She is considered one of the greatest European actresses on film. In 2020, ''The New York Times'' ranked her as one of th ...

as Marguerite *

John Malkovich John Gavin Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and ...

as John Crawford, Film Director *

Antoine Chappey Antoine Chappey (born 1960) is a French actor. He has appeared in over 80 films and television shows since 1989. He starred in the film ''Nelly (2004 film), Nelly'', which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2004 Cannes Film Fes ...

as George *

Leonor Baldaque Leonor Baldaque was born in Porto on 27 January 1977. She settled in Paris over twenty years ago and has also lived in Ital She has starred in several of Manoel de Oliveira's films since she was 19, travelling many European Festivals. In 2003 ...

as Sylvia * Leonor Silveira as Marie * Ricardo Trêpa as Guard *

Jean-Michel Arnold Jean-Michel Arnold, (April 5, 1938 – September 4, 2019) was General Secretary of the Cinémathèque Française, Vice President of UNESCO's IFTC (International Council for Film Television and Audiovisual Communication), founder of the Cinéma du ...

- Doctor * Adrien de Van as Ferdinand *

Sylvie Testud Sylvie Testud (born 17 January 1971) is a French actress whose film career began in 1991. She won the César Award for Most Promising Actress for '' Murderous Maids'' (2000), the César Award for Best Actress for '' Fear and Trembling'' (2003) ...

as Ariel *

Isabel Ruth Isabel Ruth (born 6 April 1940) is a Portuguese actress. She has appeared in more than 50 films since 1963. She starred in '' River of Gold'', which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. Selected filmog ...

as Milkmaid * Andrew Wale as Stephen * Robert Dauney as Haines * Jean Koeltgen as Serge * Mauricette Gourdon as Guilhermine, the Housekeeper

Reception

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film has a 96% approval rating based on 55 reviews, with an average rating of 7.78/10 and the consensus that it is "a masterfully subtle and poignant exploration of morality." It was one of the films in competition for the

Palme d'Or The (; ) is the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festiv ...

in the

. It won the Critics Award for Best Film at the 2001

São Paulo International Film Festival The São Paulo International Film Festival (), also known internationally as Mostra, is an annual film festival held in the city of São Paulo, Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South Ame ...

and the Golden Anchor Award at the 2002

Haifa International Film Festival The Haifa International Film Festival () is an annual film festival that takes place every autumn (between late September and late October), during the week-long holiday of Sukkot, in Haifa, Israel. History The festival was inaugurated in 1983 an ...

. It also won the Globo de Ouro for Best Film at the 2002 Globos de Ouro.

was nominated for Best Actor at the 2001

European Film Awards The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the mos ...

. Anthony Quinn of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' wrote, "Always good to see Michel Piccoli...in Manoel de Oliveira's ''I'm Going Home'' he plays Valence, a grand old stage actor who has recently lost his family...Few cameras stare so intently at things as de Oliveira's, and the long excerpts he films from Ionesco and ''

'' are frankly ''de trop'', but this patient detailing of an actor's life...has a fascination akin to watching a sun slowly disappear beneath the horizon."

References

External links

* {{Portuguese Golden Globe for Best Film 2001 films French comedy-drama films Portuguese comedy-drama films 2000s English-language films English-language French films English-language Portuguese films 2000s French-language films Films directed by Manoel de Oliveira Films produced by Paulo Branco Golden Globes (Portugal) winners 2001 comedy-drama films 2000s French films English-language comedy-drama films