Season's Beatings (French: La Bûche) is a French comedy-drama film directed by Danièle Thompson, released in 1999.
| Season's Beatings | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Danièle Thompson |
| Written by | Christopher Thompson Danièle Thompson |
| Produced by | Christine Gozlan |
| Starring | Sabine Azéma Emmanuelle Béart Charlotte Gainsbourg Claude Rich Françoise Fabian |
| Cinematography | Robert Fraisse |
| Edited by | Emmanuelle Castro |
| Music by | Michel Legrand |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Pathé |
Release date |
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| Country | France |
| Languages | French English Russian |
| Budget | $8.4 million |
| Box office | $22.7 million[1] |
Plot
Following the recent death of her second husband, for Christmas, Yvette tries to meet the three daughters from her first marriage with Stanislas, the gypsy violinist, again. During the preparations, questions and revelations are well underway from Louba, the artist, Sonia, the middle child and Milla, the rebel.
Yvette and Stanislas' daughters dreaded celebrating Christmas festivities because it coincides with the couple's 25th wedding anniversary. Ever since Yvette's divorce from Stanislas, and her remarriage, the siblings have had a strained relationship with their mother.[2]
Yvette and her daughters had an emotional reunion and reconciliation following the tragedy that took the life of her second husband.
Cast
- Sabine Azéma as Louba
- Emmanuelle Béart as Sonia
- Charlotte Gainsbourg as Milla
- Claude Rich as Stanislas
- Françoise Fabian as Yvette
- Jean-Pierre Darroussin as Gilbert
- Isabelle Carré as Annabelle
- Samuel Labarthe as Pierre
- Françoise Brion as Janine
- Christopher Thompson as Joseph
- Hélène Fillières as Véronique
- Marie de Villepin as Marie
Critical response
On Metacritic the film has a score of 66 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[3]
Accolades
| Award / Film Festival | Category | Recipients and nominees | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| César Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Claude Rich | Nominated |
| Best Supporting Actress | Charlotte Gainsbourg | Won | |
| Best Writing | Christopher Thompson and Danièle Thompson | Nominated | |
| Best First Feature Film | Nominated | ||
| Lumières Awards | Best Screenplay | Christopher Thompson and Danièle Thompson | Won |
