Back to Normandy

2007

1h 53m

Documentary

List

80%

Tomatometer

20 Reviews

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

Filmmaker Nicolas Philibert tracks down cast members from a project he worked on in 1975.

Nigel Andrews

Financial Times

Like watching an ill-focused production of Waiting for Godot.

Feb 4, 2015

Full Review

Jeff Shannon

Seattle Times

It's a bit too convenient to credit Philibert's film with Proustian significance, but this particular remembrance has been constructed with similar profundity.

Rated: 3.5/4

Feb 5, 2009

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Jeannette Catsoulis

New York Times

Back to Normandy is never less than an extraordinary journey through time, memory and the repercussions of a baffling, bygone crime.

Rated: 5/5

Jul 25, 2008

Full Review

Martin Tsai

New York Sun

Mr. Philibert’s new film isn’t nearly as haunting as some of his previous efforts. But one thing is sure: He is a wonderfully humanist filmmaker.

Apr 21, 2023

Full Review

Jennie Kermode

Eye for Film

If Back To Normandy might have had difficulty living up to the legacy of its subject, it is aided by some extraordinary visual images of its own.

Rated: 4/5

Oct 18, 2008

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Matthew Nestel

Boxoffice Magazine

The doc becomes an ode to the film the cast collectively made and iterates what power and range a camera can have in front as well as behind the scenes.

Rated: 3/5

Jul 25, 2008

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Audience Member

After the first few minutes I thought 1 star might be generous; a movie about how to kill a pig and how to find rural folk who'd been used in a dull French movie made 30 years ago; dull. However, as happens there were a few unplanned gems. The original film is about a lad who killed mother, sister and brother in 1840s; and when caught had the first use of Psychiatry in his trial - is he mad or bad? Michel Foucault involved in the orginal film. The couple talking about their daughter and her schizophrenia was insightful. Also, the woman who had a stroke; took 2 years to recover speech; said how much she liked words; the Interviewer then said "And your favourite words?" !! To which she impressively replied "Chocolate", "Friends" and "Conviviality"

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

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Audience Member

I'm not sure why I watched this movie. It was about someone looking up all the actors to a French movie from 30 years before that I had never seen. None of the people were particularly interesting, and there was no story or drama to it. There were also some pretty disturbing scenes involving pigs that probably could've been left on the cutting room floor. All in all, I'd recommend avoiding this one.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/03/23

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Nicolas Philibert

Director

Anne Borel

Actor

Claude Hebert

Actor

Nicolas Philibert

Actor

Nicole Picard

Actor

Serge Lalou

Producer

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Critics Consensus: File The X-Files Under “Disappointing”

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Synopsis

Filmmaker Nicolas Philibert tracks down cast members from a project he worked on in 1975.

Director: Nicolas Philibert
Producer: Serge Lalou
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: Canadian French
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 25, 2017
Runtime: 1h 53m