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A Bad Son

A Bad Son (Un mauvais fils)

Movie · 1980 · 3 people

Claude Sautet directed the 1980 French drama A Bad Son (Un mauvais fils in the original French). Running roughly 110 minutes, it reached French cinemas on 15 October 1980. It was Sautet's tenth feature and is described as the start of a new cycle for him, turning to social milieus and age groups unlike those of his earlier work. Based on a story by Daniel Biasini, the screenplay is by Sautet, Biasini and Jean-Paul Török.

A young man is sent back to France after five years in prison in the United States on drug charges, and tries to rebuild his life. Reconnecting with his widowed father is hard, and their meetings are tense. Meanwhile he falls in love with a young woman who is a former addict and bears the pain of that relationship. Patrick Dewaere plays the lead, Yves Robert his father and Brigitte Fossey his girlfriend; Jacques Dufilho plays the bookseller she works for. The cast also includes Claire Maurier and Dominique Zardi.

The music is by Philippe Sarde. The film came out while part of the press was boycotting Patrick Dewaere over an incident three days earlier. Even so, it drew good reviews and more than a million admissions in France. Nominated for six César awards, it won best supporting actor for Jacques Dufilho.

DirectorClaude Sautet

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Jacques Dufilho Jacques Dufilho Actor · died at 91 Claire Maurier Claire Maurier Actor · died at 97 Dominique Zardi Actor · died at 79

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Through different eyes

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Claude Sautet's tenth feature is regarded as the start of a new phase in his work, and the shift is palpable: he turns to social milieus and generations unlike those of his earlier films. Patrick Dewaere plays the young man trying to rebuild his life after five years in a US prison with real fragility, and his tense father-son encounters with Yves Robert are the film's strongest moments. Philippe Sarde's score supports the emotion without tipping into melodrama. Jacques Dufilho's César for his bookseller shows how carefully even the supporting roles are written. My reservation is the pacing: over roughly 110 minutes the film sometimes repeats the same tension too often, and the love story with Brigitte Fossey's character never runs as deep as the father-son thread.

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

The film handles addiction and the difficulty of returning to society after prison without embellishment. A young man sent back to France after five years in a US prison on drug charges, trying to start over, raises the question of how much room society and family really make for someone who has served his time. The hard reconnection with his widowed father shows the silence between generations, while his relationship with a young woman who is a former addict is a reminder that recovery is lived together and in pain, not alone. Sautet's turn towards different social milieus with this film also sheds light on a less often shown side of France in 1980.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humour and heart.

An adult drama dealing with heavy subjects such as drugs, prison and addiction. Not suitable for children. The themes are heavy for teenagers too; if you watch it with them, talk it over afterwards. The tense relationship between father and son may say a lot to parents as well. Don't expect laughs; this is a serious, sad film.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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