Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

My Mother's Castle Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 18, 2023

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as part of Film Movement's Marcel Pagnol: 2-Film Collection.

Marcel Pagnol's name is rather strangely largely unknown or at least unremembered these days, though the fact that the back cover of Film Movement's "double feature" release of two films based on Pagnol's writings mentions Jean de Florette and Manon of the Spring may help to spark some recognition. I'd personally also add in other Pagnol based efforts such as Fanny and the much earlier Marius, Fanny and César that tell more or less the same story as the Joshua Logan "non musical film version of a stage musical". It's salient to note that Pagnol was a filmmaker himself as well as being a writer, and in fact César was one of his directorial efforts, but in terms of his writing, Pagnol had a unique ability to capture both a specific time and place, setting many of his pieces in a general timeframe of the late 19th to early 20th centuries, and with at least an occasional emphasis on rustic rural types. The rural element is very much in play in both My Father's Glory and My Mother's Castle even if the socioeconomic side of things might suggest a considerably more middle class existence. Neither of these films is long on melodrama, which is actually one of the more refreshing things about both of them, but they're both unbelievably evocative and heartfelt, and they have the added benefit of providing a virtual travelogue of some of France's most stunningly beautiful locations.

While My Mother's Castle works perfectly well as a standalone property, it is of course inextricably linked to My Father's Glory, and features much of the same cast, including a now teenaged Marcel (Julien Ciamaca). If the first film exploited the gorgeous peaks and valleys of rural France, some wags might jokingly state that this film has a newly hormonal Marcel starting to notice the peaks and valleys of actual female humans, including uppity local girl Isabelle Cassignol (Julie Timmerman). Isabelle is just one of several new characters who waft through this vignette driven enterprise, as per a certain strand of Pagnol's writing, there are "character beats" for a host of somewhat eccentric country types as Marcel's family matriculates from Marseilles to the countryside for their annual vacation.

While there is arguably a bit more narrative thrust to this film than was evident in My Father's Glory, it may be only an incremental difference. Still, this is another beautifully realized portrait of a rather sweet, functional family who encounter a few obstacles along the way, including a series of locked estates that they hope to pass through to utilize a shortcut to their property. It's "little" moments like these that help build the rather vibrant emotional ambience of the film, however unlikely it may sound.

Perhaps surprisingly for two such "quiet" films, the two together manage to build to something close to a catharsis as My Mother's Castle offers a coda of sorts that reveals some bittersweet "and now the rest of the story" informational tidbits about what happens to several of the characters.

My Mother's Castle Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

My Mother's Castle is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Film Movement with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Film Movement tends not to have a ton of technical information included with their releases, and once again the insert booklet offers only a brief "new 4K restorations" as a data point. This is another often ravishing looking presentation, though both this film and its predecessor can have a just slightly jaundiced looking timing on occasion. That said, both this film and My Father's Glory offer a nicely robust palette and none of the gamma and/or luma oddities that I've noted in some of Film Movement's releases of Asian productions in particular. There are certainly some noticeable ebbs and flows of both clarity and grain structure, and I'd actually say that this film has a few more relatively rough looking patches than the first offering, but the overall impression left by this transfer is one of considerable organic qualities combined with a nicely suffused palette and generally excellent fine detail levels.

My Mother's Castle Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

My Mother's Castle features a nicely expressive LPCM 2.0 track in the original French. Both of the films in this set offer abundant use of outdoor locations, where ambient environmental sounds help to establish the scene, but both also benefit from the incredibly lush scoring offered by Vladimir Cosma, which sounds full bodied and problem free throughout the track. Dialogue (including some narration) is always rendered cleanly and clearly. Optional English subtitles are available.

My Mother's Castle Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Heritage and Nostalgia (HD; 19:59) is an interesting visual essay on this second film by French scholar Ludovik Cortade, Associate Professor in French Literature, Thought and Culture at New York University. In English.


• My Mother's Castle Trailer (HD; 1:41)

As with most Film Movement releases, the disc also offers an About Film Movement option on the Main Menu which leads to text about and a trailer for Film Movement.

My Mother's Castle Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you're like I am, you might find yourself surprised toward the end of the film by the size of the lump in your throat, as various characters' fates are disclosed. This is another beautifully rendered story that may not offer much in the way of traditional conflict, but which is a loving homage to a very unique childhood. Technical merits are solid and the main supplement very appealing. Recommended.