Quite tedious in places

Bits of this film drag on forever, bits of it suffer from crappy acting and poor direction. You'll know when to feel sad as the violins go up to 11 and it's laid on with a trowel. What could be a potentially tragic tale if done subtly is mangled with some claptrap about this kid's dad dying in a failed suicide attack and the other step-sister who seems to serve no purpose has some sort of crisis with his mother about her father's death under unusual circumstances. Is it supposed to be a metaphor? What is it actually there for? The two obviously French-speaking actors gnaw their way through their lines and enlighten us not. Why do we have to look at a pensive looking painter for endless minutes? If he only painted one picture how can you do your entire thesis on him? It's not a very good painting, either.