The Favorite Son

(LE FILS PREFERE) ((FRENCH))

An AMLF release of a Cinea/Les Films Alain Sarde/France 3 Cinema/Angel's Co. co-production with the participation of CNC, Sofinergie 3, Sofiarp 2, Investimage 3 and Canal Plus. (International sales: Le Studio Canal Plus, Paris.) Produced by Philippe Carcassonne, Alain Sarde. Directed by Nicole Garcia. Screenplay, Garcia, Francois Dupeyron, Jacques Fieschi, Jerome Tonnerre.

Jean-Paul ... Gerard Lanvin
Francis ... Bernard Giraudeau
Philippe ... Jean-Marc Barr
Raphael ... Roberto Herlitzka
Anna Maria ... Margherita Buy

With a sure hand guiding excellent perfs, actress-turned-helmer Nicole Garcia investigates the troubled history that both links and divides three grown French brothers and their Italian immigrant father in "The Favorite Son." Emotionally complex and satisfying narrative should do well at Gallic wickets and could attract offshore arthouse audiences.

Jean-Paul (Gerard Lanvin), who manages a hotel in Nice, is heavily in debt. While an auditor perches over the hotel's crooked accounts, Jean-Paul's loan shark gives him three days to come up with 300,000 francs ($ 60,000). Jean-Paul dutifully pays regular visits to his elderly father, Raphael (Roberto Herlitzka) , a desiccated former boxer whose past, pic gradually reveals, is riddled with passion and mystery. Desperate for cash, Jean-Paul approaches his estranged younger brother, Philippe (Jean-Marc Barr), a wealthy lawyer in Milan. They've barely spoken in the 10 years since Philippe married one of Jean-Paul's former lovers, Anna Maria, and Philippe is loath to help his sibling. Their older brother, Francis (Bernard Giraudeau), a serene schoolteacher who was rejected by Raphael for his homosexuality, can't contribute much money.

In hopes of appeasing his creditors, Jean-Paul takes out a life insurance policy on his father, naming himself as beneficiary. When their dad unexpectedly disappears, the three brothers reluctantly form an awkward search party haunted by spoken and unspoken resentments.

Pic succeeds admirably as both a character study and a detective story. Femme helmer penetrates the world of men with admirable finesse, incorporating scenes in boxing rings, locker rooms and smoky back rooms. The escalating pressures of Jean-Paul's iffy business dealings and his core doubts about posing as a smooth operator on rocky turf are convincingly etched.

Casting is excellent. Lanvin, in a solid central perf, has the posture of a winner and the haunted eyes of a loser. Italo thesp Herlitzka is effective as the father whose mixed legacy of pride and humiliation has been transmitted to his sons.

Other thesps are fine across the board, with special mention for Giraudeau as a self-assured gay man whose sexuality is an evenly incorporated facet of his broader identity.

Lensing in the south of France and in Milan captures the distinctive light of those regions without succumbing to storybook views. Poignant treatment of adult concerns speaks well for Garcia's future as a director.

Camera (color), Eric Gautier; editor, Agnes Guillemot, Yann Dedet; music, Philippe Sarde; production design, Antoine Platteau; sound (Dolby), Pierre Donnadieu, Vincent Arnardi; assistant director, Emmanuel Gust. Reviewed at AMLF screening room, Paris, Nov. 4, 1994. (In Sarasota French Film Festival, Florida.) Running time: 100 MIN.

With: Pierre Mondy, Antoinette Moya, Jean-Pierre Becker, Marc Berman, Karine Viard, Philippe Duclos.

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