Private Property

A mature, mesmerizing example of French domestic drama, Private Property boasts a slew of impeccably controlled performances, the most impressive of which is contributed by leading lady Isabelle Huppert as Pascale, a bitter divorcee who lives in a renovated Belgian farmhouse with her grown sons, shiftless Francois (Yannick Renier) and bullheaded Thierry (Jeremie Renier). When the lads object to Pascale's plan to sell the homestead in order to open a bed-and-breakfast, all hell breaks loose and long-smoldering resentments are reignited in a series of quarrels that threaten to divide mother and sons forever. The kind of film that would never be made in today's Hollywood (but the French seem able to do effortlessly), director Joachim Lafosse's Private Property turns family conflict into riveting drama. Highly recommended. (E. Hulse)