May Fools (1989)

Louis Malle's May Fools is a lush and luxuriant look at everyday life for one family in Southern France in 1968. Milou (Michel Piccoli) is an older man who has lived his whole life with his mother on the family's estate, enjoying every aspect of rural life and quite content with his own existence. The death of Milou's mother, the family matriarch, brings the entire clan together for one weekend to settle the estate. The clan includes Milou, his daughter Camille (Miou-Miou) and her family, daughter Claire (Dominique Blanc) and her lesbian lover, as well as several others. The story centers on the reluctance of many of the family members to keep Milou living on the estate, as the family feels it is time to sell and get what money they can. Malle made a career of close-up views of peoples' lives and loves. May Fools seems to weave the smallest threads of personal behavior into a diverse tapestry of human interactions and connections. Milou attempts to show his family what can happen if a person lets life lead him instead of always trying to lead one's life. The group flees into the forest after hearing rumors that a student uprising will spill into the countryside, and here their loves and weaknesses begin to take over.