Homecoming (2023)

★ 6.1 1h 48m IMDb

Drama

Kheìdidja, in her forties, works for a wealthy Parisian family who offers her the opportunity to take care of their children for a summer in Corsica. It's an opportunity for her to return with her daughters, Jessica and Farah, to the island they left fifteen years earlier in tragic circumstances.

Where to Watch

Netflix

Amazon Prime Video

Disney Plus

HBO Max

Max

Hulu

Paramount Plus

Apple TV Plus

Peacock

Showtime

Starz

Paramount+ with Showtime

Rent / Buy

Rent

Apple TV

Google Play Movies

Amazon Video

YouTube

Vudu

Fandango at Home

Buy

Apple TV

Google Play Movies

Amazon Video

YouTube

Vudu

Fandango at Home

Cast

Esther Gohourou as Farah

Suzy Bemba as Jessica Age 25 · Diou, Allier, France Suzy Bemba is an actress, known for Poor Things (2023), L'Opéra (2021) and Kandisha (2020).

Lomane de Dietrich as Gaia

Cédric Appietto as Marc-Andria

Marie-Ange Geronimi as Michelle

Harold Orsoni as Orso

Director Catherine Corsini

Cast Aissatou Diallo Sagna, Esther Gohourou, Suzy Bemba, Lomane de Dietrich, Cédric Appietto, Marie-Ange Geronimi, Harold Orsoni, Jean Michelangeli, Virginie Ledoyen, Denis Podalydès

Lachlan Thiele 5/10 May 18, 2023

EXT. HOW TO MAKE A CANNES MOVIE – NIGHT

Homecoming (Le Retour) was my final screening on the second day at Cannes 2023, and I had yet to be blown away by a film, but Homecoming had a premise that interested me. A woman flees her home due to 'tragic circumstances' but returns many years later with her two daughters. This 'circumstance' intrigued me; the film opens with that moment, Kheídidja and her two daughters leave Corsica, but the reason isn't presented to us; this motive was to be developed and revealed over the 2-hour run time.

Homecoming's most significant strength is the relationship between the two daughters, Jessica and Farah, and their mother. While I thought this film would be a character piece focusing on Kheídidja' tragic circumstance' for leaving, the film moves on from that very quickly, completely losing focus on the mother and fixating on the coming-of-age tropes for her two daughters. The film isn't about Kheídidja coming to terms with her loss and reason for initially leaving it all behind. Instead, it's about two young adults navigating the island to discover who they are. The trio of actors who play these characters do an excellent job of building a beautiful relationship. However, under that immensely incredible bond is a story that doesn't know where it wants to go. Still, somehow these performers have created something from that mess and formed a believable family dynamic.

Remember the first paragraph about the 'tragic circumstance'? Yeah, just like the film, I will entirely skip over it and forget that was the mystery we set up in the first place. Let's talk more about the girls. This review is titled 'How to Make a Cannes Movie' because all the elements are there, French (tick), LGBTQIA+ (tick), minority (tick), and societal issues (tick); all the boxes are there, and it's a stock-standard Coming-of-Age film for Cannes. But no matter, this film had massive strengths but some hard weaknesses. Leaving me with a clean 3.5-star film. Stay for the performances; ignore the plot.

FADE OUT.