Michel Gondry’s documentary about his schoolteacher aunt, Suzette Gondry, “The Thorn In The Heart, (“L’Epine dans le Coeur”) has been bought by Oscilloscope Pictures, the company co-founded by the Beastie Boys’ Adam Yauch.
We didn’t hear too much about this film during the festival as it played the day we arrived (while we were stuck at the airport), but Mike D’Angelo of the A/V Club said, “I have no idea why he or the Cannes selection committee imagined that ‘Thorn In The Heart’ would be of interest to anyone outside of Gondry’s immediate family,” and this was a sentiment echoed by Alex Billington of FirstShowing, in his video blog.
It’s obviously a very personal film and because it’s so different from what Gondry normally delivers, we’re still pretty interested. Variety called it, “a lovely, minor-key ode… [that] draws on extensive home-movie footage and family interviews to frame the life story of Gondry’s aunt, who worked from 1952 – 86 as a schoolteacher in a series of villages throughout rural France.”
Adam Yauch called it “a sincere doc on a subject that is so close to (Gondry’s) heart” according to THR.
No date on this one yet, but Oscilloscope is small so expect a small, limited release. Their biggest picture so far has probably been “Wendy & Lucy,” so gauge that film and your city — and if it actually opened there — as your guide for this one.