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People are voting emotionally.

Good concept, poorly executed.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Belgian screenwriter and director Joachim Lafosse's third feature film which he co-wrote with Belgian screenwriter Francois Pirot and Iranian screenwriter and director Philippe Blasband, premiered In competition at the 63rd Venice Film Festival in 2006, was screened in the Special Presentations section at the 27th Toronto International Film Festival in 2006, was shot on location in Belgium and is a Belgium-France-Luxembourg co-production which was produced by producer Joseph Rouschop. It tells the story about a mother named Pascale who lives in a house in a commune in Belgium with her two sons named Thierry and Francois. Pascale is barely on speaking terms with Thierry and Francois' father named Luc whom she divorced a decade earlier and is secretly having a relationship with her Flemish neighbour named Jan whom is encouraging her to sell her house and move away with him, but when Pascale begins expressing her future plans to Thierry and Francois she gets nothing but resistance. Distinctly and precisely directed by Belgian filmmaker Joachim Lafosse, this finely paced fictional tale which is narrated from multiple viewpoints, draws a dense and objectively heartrending portrayal of a father whom is almost being prohibited from visiting his two sons, a mother whom is getting inspirations from her lover which could affect the lives of her children and her relationship with them and a heartily relationship between two close to inseparable twin brothers who are very pleased with living with their mother and kidding around with her. While notable for it's naturalistic milieu depictions, sterling cinematography by cinematographer Hichame Alaouil, production design by production designer Anna Falguères and use of sound and colors, this dialog-driven story about conflicts of will and compromises within family relations where a woman whom has gotten the house her former husband bought and both of their boys to herself begins to consider leaving her job, her infants and her home which belongs as much to them as it does to her, depicts two involving studies of character and contains a timely instrumental score. This authentic, at times humorous, cinematographic and reverently humane drama from the late 2000s which is set mostly on a grand property nearby a town in Belgium and where the idea of selling a family house and the introduction of a new man causes a student to revolt against his mother and proclaim what he and his brother whom is polishing doors is entitled to, is impelled and reinforced by it's refined narrative structure, subtle character development and continuity, moral and psychological undertones, distinguished style of filmmaking, comment by Luc : "We just tried, and it didn't work out. That's all." and the poignant acting performances by French actress Isabelle Huppert, Belgian actors Jérémie Renier, Yannick Renier and Patrick Descamps, Belgian actress Raphaëlle Lubansu and Flemish actor Kris Cuppens. A quietly atmospheric and incisively sociological character piece which gained the SIGNIS Award - Honorable Mention Joachim Lafosse at the 63rd Venice Film Festival in 2006.

In my opinion, "Nue propriete" contains universal images which create a dramatic tension that is never absent from the film. There is, thank goodness, no comic relief to detract from the dire positions of the characters. Also, there are no mindless subplots which cause the characters to wander off in aimless directions. The most obvious classical theme, some would say biblical theme, is that of Cain and Abel, with Thierry as Cain. A modern reflection of OEDIPIUS REX is very obvious. Alas, poor Thierry is also somewhat like Hamlet, especially with Hamlet's insult of Gertrude in Shakespeare's bedroom scene, where the female parent is accosted by a barrage of language befitting a brothel. The Thierry-Hamlet image is manifest in the relation between Thierry and his girl friend, as with Hamlet and Ophelia. Thierry's hatred is also aimed toward Jan, his mother's new partner, much like Hamlet's dislike for his new father Claudius. Pascale, the mother in the film, reminds one of Nora in Ibsen's A DOLL HOUSE. Both women want out. The acting in "Nue propriete" is very good, the direction is a above average. This film is well worth seeing.

Isabelle Huppert, who has A-list directors standing in line to work with her is celebrated for her willingness to help new writer-directors by lending her name to attract finance and her presence on set to attract audiences. This can, of course, prove embarrassing - Josie Balasko's first directorial effort Sac de Noeuds didn't exactly set the screen alight but Huppert was right to see the promise which has since been kept over and over - but on the other hand it can result in something as delightful as Aleandra Leclerc's Les Soeurs fachees (Huppert has a new film with Leclerc, Les Mediaturs, in post-production even as we speak). She got it right this time, too, with Joachim Lafosse who probably wouldn't have got this one off the ground without Huppert. Real-life brothers Jeremie and Yannick Renier play Huppert's twin sons who live with her in what was the family home til Huppert divorced their father Patrick Descamps, who has remarried and lives within driving distance with his new wife and child. The French title Nue Propriete, is more specific, a French legal term in which a family member, usually an ex-spouse, is allowed to live in a house but has no legal right to ownership so that they cannot, for example, sell it or take in lodgers. This, in fact is the position in which Huppert finds herself and as it happens she does want to sell, move away with a neighbour/lover and open a B&B. This brings us to the twins, neither of whom appears to have any friends although one has a girl he uses as a sex-object. Long before we, the audience, enter the scene, the boys have become dominant, especially Jeremie Renier who thinks nothing of interrogating his mother daily, verbally abusing her and going through her bag. It goes without saying that her attempt to introduce her lover to the twins is a disaster. This is a cloistered, unhealthy family with Huppert thinking nothing of taking a shower openly whilst one son cleans his teeth two or three feet away; a great deal of screen time is given over to meals, traditionally a time when families come together in harmony but not, of course, here. As usual Huppert gives a Master-Class in Screen acting but there isn't really a bad performance throughout. It's not exactly Feelgood but it is a fine film and worth anyone's time.

The French film, "Private Property," sets up a fierce battle of wills between a divorced mother and the two ne'er-do-well sons (fraternal twins) who still live with her. Pascale wants to sell the house and open up a bed-and-breakfast with her new boyfriend, but the young men, fearing the loss of the property that they believe should rightly go to them, attempt to block any efforts in that direction.With intelligent direction by Joachim Lafosse and incisive writing by Lafosse and Francois Pirot, this low-keyed family drama explores the complexities inherent in filial, sibling and marital relationships. The confrontation scenes, many of which take place during meal times (come to think of it, I don't believe I've seen this much eating in a film since "Babette's Feast"), are sharply drawn and effectively staged. The acting is excellent across the board, particularly that of Isabelle Huppert, as the middle-aged woman determined to finally start living for herself, and Jeremy Renier, as the more belligerent and self-centered of her two sons. Yannick Renier, Jeremy's brother in real life, is also very good as the more passive of the twins.Some viewers may feel let down and frustrated by the inconclusive ending, but I enjoyed the ambiguity of it. We have been made privy to just one brief episode in the lives of these people - then it's time for us to move on.