Maison du Bonheur

Maison du Bonheur is a 2017 Canadian documentary film directed by Sofia Bohdanowicz. It profiles Juliane Sellam, a 77-year-old French astrologer living in Montmartre.

Maison du Bonheur
Film poster
Directed bySofia Bohdanowicz
Produced bySofia Bohdanowicz
Calvin Thomas
StarringJuliane Sellam
CinematographySofia Bohdanowicz
Edited bySofia Bohdanowicz
Release date
  • April 23, 2017 (2017-04-23) (BAFICI)
Running time
62 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageFrench

The film premiered at the Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema on April 23, 2017,[1] and had a limited theatrical release in the U.S. and Canada in 2018.[2][3]

Synopsis

Filmed in the Montmartre quarter of Paris, Maison du Bonheur is a portrait of 77-year-old Juliane Sellam, who is as full of life and vibrancy as the iconic neighbourhood she calls home. The film focuses on the daily life of Sellam in the pre-war apartment that the French astrologer has lived in for half a century. In this intimate and eclectic space, Sellam’s world proves to be as expansive as the universe that lies at her doorstep.

Told in 30 episodic segments narrated by Sellam and Bohdanowicz, the matriarch’s life and rich inner world crystallizes though her daily rituals of making coffee, applying makeup, and caring for her geraniums.

Production

In July 2015, Bohdanowicz embarked to Paris to shoot the film at the behest of Sellam's daughter.[4] For production costs, she sought out a $10,000 line of credit to purchase film stock and rented a 16mm Bolex camera.[4] She shot the film over the course of one month and recorded the sound herself.[4] After filming was complete, she applied to grants for post-production funds.[5]

Release

Critical reception

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 100% based on 7 reviews, and an average rating of 8.2/10.[6] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 78 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[7]

The Globe and Mail's Barry Hertz named the film one of his top 10 films of 2018, calling it "a supremely thoughtful and careful study of one elderly Parisian woman" and "as revealing as it is honest and sincere," adding that, "this is a film to seek out and cherish.”[8] Glenn Kenny of The New York Times selected the film as a Critics' Pick and called it "a profound delight."[9] Corey Atad for Vice Magazine praised the film as "a work of empathic delight, conveying the feeling of a life lived while providing only a glimpse at it."[10]

Accolades
Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref(s)
Directors Guild of Canada 2017 DGC Discovery Award Sofia Bohdanowicz Nominated [11]
Vancouver Film Critics Circle January 8, 2018 Best Canadian Documentary Sofia Bohdanowicz Won [12]
Best Director of a Canadian Film Sofia Bohdanowicz Nominated
Toronto Film Critics Association December 9, 2018 Best Canadian Film Sofia Bohdanowicz Nominated [13][14]
Jay Scott Prize Sofia Bohdanowicz Won

References
  1. Cook, Adam (May 14, 2018). "A Look Inside Sofia Bohdanowicz's 'Maison du bonheur'". VIFF. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  2. DeFore, John (August 25, 2018). "'Maison du Bonheur': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  3. Hertz, Barry (August 16, 2018). "Review: Maison du bonheur is as revealing as it is honest and sincere". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  4. "Filmmaker Sofia Bohdanowicz on her $10,000, under-90-minute independent film challenge". The Globe and Mail. August 15, 2018. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  5. "For Sofia Bohdanowicz, the stars aligned". The Globe and Mail. April 20, 2017.
  6. "Maison du Bonheur (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  7. "Maison du Bonheur Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  8. Hertz, Barry (December 11, 2018). "The Globe and Mail's top 10 films of 2018". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  9. Kenny, Glenn (August 23, 2018). "Review: 'Maison du Bonheur,' a Beguiling Portrait of a Woman in Paris". The New York Times. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  10. Atad, Corey (May 11, 2017). "The Hottest Docs of Hot Docs 2017". Vice. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  11. Barry Hertz, "Directors Guild of Canada reveals long list for Discovery Award". The Globe and Mail, September 5, 2017.
  12. Mullen, Pat (January 10, 2018). "Toronto and Vancouver Film Critics Award Sofia Bohdanowicz's 'Maison du Bonheur'". Point of View. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  13. Atad, Corey (December 10, 2018). "Toronto Film Critics Association Names 'Roma' Best Picture Of 2018". ET Canada. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
  14. Doherty, Brennan (January 9, 2018). "Werewolf wins big at Toronto Film Critics awards". Toronto Star. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
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