Rambling brilliance

If you read the members' reviews of this film you'll mainly think it's over-long, has too much dialogue and not enough plot.

I'm with Francis PK though - The film is long, the plot is virtually non-existent, and the majority of the film may be based around dialogue. However, like Desplechin's other films, it is the sheer loveliness of watching characters so real and human play out their frailties and failings over a timespan that actually reflects something as near to real life as cinema can achieve that appeals. The acting is uniformly superb (Amalric and Davos especially delight), with characters developed beyond the usual detail you'd expect from a French ensemble piece.

If you want pace and plot, go for one of the more stylised French directors - If you want character and realistic, tour-de-force acting, check this out.