Told from the perspective of an adult Marcel looking back at his childhood, My Father's Glory treats its story with warmth and affection. It tells the story of a happy childhood with loving parents, yet the film never becomes sappy or overly sentimental; in fact, it's really not a sentimental film at all. The story is presented through the eyes of the child Marcel, to whom everything is fresh, new, and all-important, while the narrator's adult voice offers a wry perspective on the travails of childhood.

As the title suggests, My Father's Glory centers around Marcel's relationship with his schoolteacher father, Joseph (Philippe Caubère) whom Marcel both loves and admires with the intensity only a child can have. To Marcel his father is all-wise and all-knowing, and Marcel deeply resents any implication to the contrary. Nonetheless, the film allows us to see that Joseph is only human after all, capable of feeling nervous on the first day of a new job, and a little uncertain in taking up a new hobby with his new brother-in-law... but rather than making Marcel's adoration seem unfounded, this allows us to view their relationship with greater affection. Marcel's father is not an idol on a pedestal: he's a real person who happens to be a loving, intelligent, interesting human being, who is doing his best to raise his son to be the same.

While the other relationships in the film are slightly secondary to that of Marcel and his father, they nonetheless play an important part in Marcel's life, especially his relationship with his beloved mother Augustine (Nathalie Roussel). I was impressed as well by the handling of Marcel's friendship with Lili (Joris Molinas), the country boy who befriends him when Marcel is on holiday with his family; like so much in the film, it touches on the essential emotional elements of friendship while, in this case, also evoking a tinge of sadness.

My Father's Glory is at its core a joyful film, and one of the characteristics of a story that celebrates life in this way is that it's full of humor: not jokes, but a humorous take on life that encourages us to smile and downright laugh. It's a warm and generous humor, in which we laugh with the characters rather than at them, as when Marcel's mother and aunt repeatedly (and evidently with great practice) nip in the bud any "discussion" about religion that starts between their respective husbands, who have radically different opinions on the subject. In one of the most amusing sequences of the film, Marcel tries to reason out where babies come from based on a hint from a schoolmate; the resulting train of thought is all the funnier because it is entirely logical and well-thought-out in its own way.

My Father's Glory is the first part of a diptych of films based on the memoirs of Marcel Pagnol, the second being My Mother's Castle (Le château de ma mère). Pagnol also penned the novels that were made into the films Jean de Florette and Manon of the Spring. In My Father's Glory, director Yves Robert has created a film that seems to bring to the screen all the depth of a well-written novel, while at the same time being entirely suited to film. The narrative voice is kept at a perfect balance with the events on-screen, offering commentary and elaboration on important events, but never coming between us and the characters. The cinematography brings a visual richness to accompany the emotional depth of the story, capturing the mood of the moment with close familial shots or sweeping vistas of the countryside of Provence. 

Video

MGM's "World Films" division has presented My Father's Glory in a very attractive DVD transfer. The film is presented in its original widescreen 1.85:1aspect ratio, and is anamorphically enhanced. There's a small amount of edge enhancement, and the very first scene, a soaring shot over the mountains, has a moderate amount of noise, but the rest of the film looks great. The print is very clean, free of both noise and print flaws, and the contrast and detail are excellent. Colors are outstanding: My Father's Glory is a film that makes a great deal of use of sunlight and warm, open vistas, and in this transfer we get an inviting color palette that makes for a very pleasing viewing experience.

The film comes with optional subtitles in French, English, and Spanish.

Audio

The soundtrack for My Father's Glory is surprisingly robust for a Dolby 2.0 track. The sound is full and natural-sounding, with a reasonable amount of spatial separation in the dialogue and environmental effects. A mono English soundtrack is also provided, but for non-French speakers I would still recommend listening to the excellent French language track, with English subtitles turned on. French speakers, of course, will appreciate the option of turning off subtitles entirely.

Extras

The only extra on My Father's Glory is a trailer for the film. Apart from that, My Father's Glory does deserve credit for having optional subtitles, a feature that is extremely desirable for foreign-language DVDs. The menus are straightforward and easy to navigate, with a static movie-themed image behind easy-to-select menu choices.

Final thoughts

My Father's Glory is a film with tremendous heart, giving us a glimpse into a golden childhood that is clearly nostalgic, yet never sentimental. It's a film that explores the emotional territory of happiness, which has a depth and texture entirely different and certainly every bit as deep and compelling as any story of conflict. I found My Father's Glory to be entirely captivating, and I highly recommend it.