The Son of Joseph

(Le fils de Joseph, Eugène Green, France/Belgium 2016, 115 min., 35mm, French w/subtitles)

Eugène Green | Rochester Premiere. Eugène Green’s latest movie, The Son of Joseph, is perhaps his most buoyant. A nativity story reboot that gently skewers French cultural pretensions, it features newcomer Victor Ezenfis as a discontented Parisian teenager in search of a father, with Mathieu Amalric and Fabrizio Rongione as his, respectively, callous and gentle alternative paternal options, and Natacha Régnier as his single mother.

“This arch, bold, and tender transposition of elements of the Nativity to the cramped secular life of a high-school student in current-day Paris is as much of an emotional wonder as a conceptual one.” – Richard Brody, The New Yorker

“Green’s exuberant visuals and austere rhythms suggest Wes Anderson by way of Robert Bresson, although in reality, the combination belongs to Green alone.” – Eric Kohn, IndieWire