About.com Rating

In The Thorn In The Heart, Michel Gondry, a filmmaker best known for imaginative narrative features and headliner music videos, turns his camera on his aging Aunt Suzette, an aging matron who's spent much of her life -- 34 years of it, to be exact -- as a school teacher in a rural French town. Suzette's memories are illustrated with family photographs and home movies and some of her adoring students, now grown up and with kids of their own, share fond recollections of their former teacher.

An Ordinary Life Captured On Film

Aunt Suzette is forthright and quite charming, and it's pleasant enough to spend some time in rural France, but there's nothing extraordinary about her personality or the life she's lead. So, it's difficult for the audience to become as interested in her as the filmmaker is. He's her nephew, and her story is his is, too, to some extent. But when the clan gathers to sit down for a family dinner -- with Gondry at the table, too -- you feel like a guest who's been invited but doesn't quite fit in. You don't feel uncomfortable, you just wonder why you're there and how long it will last.

The most intriguing character in the film is, it turns out, not Suzette. Nor, for that matter, is it Gondry -- although his name and artistic reputation will undoubtedly draw many viewers to see this documentary. Instead, the most interesting character is Suzette's 54-year old son, Jean-Yves, whose presence in the film actually looms larger than the extent of his rather brief appearance.

It is really through Suzette's comments about Jean-Yves, and frequent visual references to him -- footage that shows his rather elaborate train set, for example -- that his character takes on greater dimensions. Truth is, Suzette doesn't really approve of him or accept this lifestyle. That's Gondry's discovery in the documentary. And the tension of that relationship, which isn't actually the main focus of the documentary, is the most interesting thing about it.

There are many autobiographical documentaries that are fascinating. The Thorn In The Heart just doesn't happen to be one of them.

Other Autobiographical Documentaries of Interest

• The Beaches of Agnes
• Moving Midway
• Traces of The Trade: A Story From The Deep North
• October Country

Film Details:

• Title: The Thorn In The Heart or L'épine dans le coeur
• Director: Michel Gondry
• Release date: USA April 2, 2010, in NY, followed by roll out to other cities
• Parents Guide: Add content advisory
• Runtime: 86 minutes
• Country: France
• Language: French, with English subtitles
• Filming Locations: France
• Distribution company: Oscilloscope Pictures