Profils Paysans: la Vie Moderne (Modern Life) (2008)
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100% of critics liked it
(17 reviews) -
72% of users liked it
(286 ratings)
After offering an up-close look at life in a farming community in the French hillsides in Profils paysans: L'approche and Le Quotidien, filmmaker Raymond Depardon returns to the village of Le Villaret in this documentary. Marcel Privat and his brother Raymond Privat have spent nearly their whole… More After offering an up-close look at life in a farming community in the French hillsides in Profils paysans: L'approche and Le Quotidien, filmmaker Raymond Depardon returns to the village of Le Villaret in this documentary. Marcel Privat and his brother Raymond Privat have spent nearly their whole lives as dairy farmers in Le Villaret, but it's clear they can only continue for so long; Marcel is eighty-eight years old while his brother is only a few years younger, and unfavorable weather and poor soil conditions have devastated their grazing lands, reducing their flocks to a handful of cows and goats. Their nephew Alain Rouviere has moved from Calais to Le Villaret to help look after Marcel and Raymond as well as their farm, but it's clear Alain's wife Cecile doesn't care for the old men and isn't afraid to tell them what she thinks. Down the road, Marcel Challaye and his wife Germaine are also growing old and fighting a losing battle with the elements as their spread of cattle gradually shrinks to nothingness, and Daniel Roy, who has inherited his family's farm, sees no future in working the increasingly flinty soil of Le Villaret. La Vie Moderne (aka Modern Life) was an official entry at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Raymond Depardon
- Genres
- Documentary, Art House & International, Special Interest
PG,
- In Theaters
- May 18, 2008 Wide
- Studio
- FunFilm
Critic Reviews
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David Jenkins, Time Out
Depardon's palpable sense of respect for his subjects lends the film a geniality that would otherwise have been hard to fabricate.
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Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph
This could be the most sublime film you'll ever see about French cattle farming.
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Edward Porter, Sunday Times (UK)
The interviews aren't that insightful, but they have a simple poignancy.
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Philip French, Observer [UK]
It's an austere, rewarding film.
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Jason Wood, Little White Lies
Though visually seductive, especially for anyone longing to escape the urban jungle, Modern Life is also to be admired for refusing to slide into postcard lyricism.
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