Review of You Will Be My Son (2011) by Eric H — 20 Jul 2016

There's a grim tale well-told in 'You Will be My Son': that of an egotistical wine-maker whose love of his craft exceeds that for his son, and to such an extent that he feels under no obligation to hide it.

The film pivots around these two points, indulging a sense of love for the craft of traditional wine-making, but portraying the father's behaviour in an utterly unsympathetic light. But the son is a bit too craven to be interesting: he has a mysteriously beautiful wife, and his refusal to leave, and preference to stay around and be bullied instead, is a bit mystifying; ultimately the film perhaps shares with its characters a sense that patrimony is at heart the proper way of the world.

The ambiguous ending, however, is well-judged.