Manoel de Oliveira's I'm Going Home (Je Rentre a la Maison) is one of those films that comes toward the end of a critically acclaimed career and is celebrated more for the man behind the film than for the film itself. If you understand that de Oliveira began making films in 1932 and is himself a cinema icon, I'm Going Home is a modestly touching sunset-of-his-life portrait of an artist as an old man. Taken out of that context, however, the film is a tedious and sometimes silly endeavor.

Gilbert Valence (Michel Piccoli) is a Parisian theatre actor who has enjoyed some critical and popular acclaim. We first meet him in the midst of an interminable (15 minutes of the film's 80-minute length) stage performance of Eugene Ionesco's Exit The King, a play that none-too-subtly deals with the specter of mortality. Awaiting Valence backstage are some somber dudes preparing to inform the old man that his wife, daughter, and son-in-law have died in a car accident. All that's left of his family is a young grandson. "Some time later," as a title card informs us, we find Valence wandering through his daily routine, not paying much attention to his grandson, and in general being a cantankerous boor.

I'm Going Home has been celebrated for its observed silences, its long quiet moments, and its confident storytelling. To be fair, there are a handful of directorial decisions in this film that are impressive. I enjoyed the way de Oliveira locks his camera on an empty room as we listen to a conversation down the hall. Or the way the camera focuses on Valence's new shoes as he converses with his agent at a café. Or the way we voyeuristically watch Valence go about his daily routine, to the sound of nothing but traffic noise. These are nice touches. But unfortunately, they quickly become self-conscious, and they're far outweighed by more irritating decisions, such as the silly musical-chairs sequence involving patrons at the café grabbing their regular tables. Or the tedious decision to focus on John Malkovich's face for 10 minutes while Valence struggles with his English. Or the loooong establishing shots. Or the awkwardly telegraphed mugging scene. Or the endless make-up application scene.

Okay, we get it. The film is about the world moving along around us, oblivious of our existence and troubles and mortality. When we're gone, the world will go on. Great ideas, to be sure, but in this case, they've made for a singularly uninvolving experience. Had I watched this film in a theater, I might very well have looked at my watch at about the halfway mark, stood up, murmured the film's title, and walked out.

Image presents I'm Going Home in an overall soft and bland non-anamorphic widescreen presentation of the film's original 1.66:1 theatrical presentation. Detail is mediocre and colors are flat, giving the film an aged appearance, even though it's only a year old. The image is washed out, and I noticed fairly heavy edge halos throughout.

The film's French Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack is just fine. Stereo separation is pleasing across the front, especially when the only audio is ambient traffic noise and crowd murmurs. Dialog is accurate and clean. As you might expect, there's little to no low end, and surround activity is nil.

The disc offers two fairly meaty extras. The first is an Audio Commentary by Richard Pena, Program Director, Film Society of Lincoln Center and Associate Professor in Film Studies, Columbia University. Pena's comments are obviously scripted for the first part of the film, and then he relaxes for more informal commentary for the last part. Huge silences characterize the later part of his track. But he has much to say about the director's style and symbols and themes. It's an informative track, recommended for fans.

The next extra is an Interview with Manoel de Oliveira. In this 14-minute piece, the director tells us the meaning of his film in no uncertain terms. He says the film represents "the tragedy of our civilization…it doesn't know what to do…it can't find its way home."

You also get the film's Theatrical Trailer. Interestingly, both the trailer and the interview are enhanced for widescreen sets, whereas the feature film is not.

I'm Going Home has some interesting moments, and taken in the context of its creator, it's a quietly poignant film. But I believe that works of art should be able to stand apart from their makers, and it's in this context that the film suffers. The DVD's video presentation is also underwhelming.