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Death of the Grandfather or: the Sleep of the Just
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Secondary Title:
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(La mort du grand-père ou Le sommeil du juste)
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Filmmaker Name:
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Jacqueline Veuve
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Film Length:
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87 min
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Film Year:
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1978
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Duration:
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76-90 min
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Decade:
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1970s
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Color:
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color
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A tale, told by his five daughters, of the life and death of a man very representative of a Protestant Switzerland in the early 20th century where life was conditioned by the work ethic. He was first a farmer, then a factory worker, then the head of a small family affair where his daughters became his workers. The business grew into an large factory that would be eventually taken over by the only son. The five stories show us the family and professional context of the first half of the 20th century. They are also five different versions of the serene death of a man who felt he had done his duty. The film illustrates the ideas of Max Weber, known for their importance in understanding the Western civilization that emerged from the Reformation.
Jacqueline Veuve has become known primarily as the chronicler of the ordinary. She has been called "la grande dame des humbles", the great lady of the humble, because she allows time for the unspectacular, patiently depicting little everyday tasks and giving meaning and magnitude
to these minor gestures. There is hardly a detail she does not deem worthy of the keen and benevolent interest that allows its uniqueness and value to be brought to light. She does so with the perseverance of an experienced chronicler and film-maker who has often joined in the battle for the independence of Swiss documentary-film production.
–Susanna Kumschick, 2000
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