Review: Maison Du Bonheur is a lovely meditation on the gap between young and old

Sofia Bohdanowicz’s first feature documentary is a touching film that’s part portrait, part character study

By Norman Wilner

Aug 16, 2018

MAISON DU BONHEUR (Sofia Bohdanowicz). 62 minutes. Subtitled. Opens Friday (August 17). See listing. Rating: NNNN

Sofia Bohdanowicz’s first feature documentary – finally getting a theatrical run more than a year after its Hot Docs premiere – lands somewhere between portraiture and character study, as the Toronto filmmaker spends a month in Paris with 77-year-old Juliane Lumbroso-Sellam.

Juliane is a great subject, telling lively stories about her childhood and her career as an astrologer. She’s also more than eager to play life coach to Sofia whenever the opportunity arises, which lets her guest add a layer of self-reflection to the piece.

It’s entirely in line with Bohdanowicz’s body of short films, layering images of calm rooms and cafés with a melancholy undercurrent to create a meditation on the gap between the young and old.

At a point where documentaries are becoming increasingly flashy and frantic, watching Maison Du Bonheur felt like arriving at an oasis.

normw@nowtoronto.com | @normwilner

Norman Wilner

A life-long Torontonian, Norman became the senior film writer for NOW in early 2008. Previously he had reviewed films for Metro newspapers across Canada and covered every video format imaginable (yes, even Beta).