There is exceptional pacing to be admired in Victoria Hely-Hutchinson’s Vacances. At first, and for quite a long time, it seems like we’re simply hanging out by the pool of a sunny villa with Granny, an uninhibited, charismatic and rather eccentric matriarch (and Austrian countess), lounging in the sunshine, and talking about past erotic exploits, which she may or may not have embellished.
Meanwhile, her granddaughters are sunbathing or floating around, treating grandmother’s endless monologues (“If you want to eat, eat. If you want to fart, fart.”) as part of the background noise of summer, as familiar as the chirping of the crickets in the rolling hills of Provence.
There is no music – unless someone hums a tune – there is just simmering heat, blue skies and falling asleep in the shadows. It feels as if time stands still, as if the filmmaker – another granddaughter, we later learn – simply wanted to preserve these last lazy summer days with her grandmother. Remember, when we had nothing to do, Granny was always just happily rambling on, and we were floating in the pool? Ah, those were the days!
There is a short film – very short in fact, five minutes – also called Vacances, also by Victoria Hely-Hutchinson, which she released in 2016. This time, in what is her feature-length debut, she sighs that she has no idea how to conclude her project. It appears that she has been filming these summers with Granny for about ten years. Perhaps it’s because I am terrible at judging people’s age, but I certainly didn’t have the impression of so much time passing. It all seemed like one, long, lazy, hot, sleepy and generally pleasant summer.
Except that slowly, drip by drip, we get to know a little bit more about the family. Granddaughter’s teasing appears to mask deeper criticisms – “I like the way Granny deals with animals. She’s nice, like, really nice to animals. I think less nice to humans, because they talk back to her.” The in-between generation shows up, the person who is both daughter to Granny and mother to the granddaughters, and who seems more conflicted about the family dynamics. And Granny herself, after a while, does start to become a tad overbearing. She certainly likes to hear herself talk; it’s her show, and she is the star: “I’m born with this. I am a master of emotional intellect.”
But, you know, she is an elderly woman, comfortable in her own skin, and open about her sex life (“I never did anything dangerous or malicious. I was just extremely naughty”) which is emancipatory to see represented on screen. It’s also rather fun to watch. Plus, it’s her house, her dominion – why not let her show off a bit in front of the camera?
The fact that daughter and granddaughter sometimes roll their eyes at Granny, is in itself nothing out of the ordinary – that happens in every family. Just as it’s common that a highly eccentric individual is often better appreciated by their grandchildren, who can admire the rebellious spirit from a safe distance, than by their children, who would rather have had a normal childhood.
And then, almost imperceptible at first, the drips turn into a small stream, which, by the time we reach the final half-hour or so of the documentary, has become a waterfall which threatens to drag the whole family away, as Hely-Hutchinson’s editing fully opens the floodgates.
I don’t want to spoil too much, but the confrontations between Granny and her granddaughters – who have, remember, aged a few more years by now and are heading towards thirty – are becoming more tense. Granny’s advice on life, love and body image is now less welcome – “too old school”, sighs granddaughter, as she closes her eyes and continues tanning.
But it’s the one in the middle, Granny’s daughter, who is really getting it from both sides. Granny is incredibly, inexcusably rude with her (“I always knew you were dim”). The daughter admits always feeling like “a kid” whenever she is in the presence of ever-dominant Granny, and the exasperated granddaughter describes her Mum as “really infantile,” especially concerning her son, who is dealing with some undisclosed issues and spends most of his screen time exercising in the background. When Mum looks up at her daughter, who admonishes her for leaving the “parenting” of her son to Granny, and responds, with a sad, lost expression on her face, “what would you want me to do?”, it’s heart-wrenching.
At this point, the slow build-up really pays off. It’s precisely because we first got to spend time with this family, slowly getting to know them, chilling and playing in the sun, that we can believe there is real, unconditional love behind these harsh exchanges. All thanks to Hely-Hutchinson’s extraordinary pacing. This way, Vacances avoids two major voyeuristic pitfalls: the film becomes neither a reductive portrait of a funny old eccentric nor a sensationalist dissection of a dysfunctional family.
But still: ten years, in eighty-two minutes. That’s eight minutes per year, more or less. What selection are we seeing? The filmmaker mostly hides behind the camera, but the other family members all seem to have rather strong opinions about each other. What are Victoria Hely-Hutchinson’s opinions? What informs her editing choices?
Towards the end of Vacances, Mum tells her she doesn’t want to see the film, because it’s going to focus on “all the grim bits”. And then she turns away from the camera in silence. Sure, she’s not saying: don’t film this, or: I don’t want you to release the film. She accepts her daughter’s project. But she’s obviously not happy with it. Which is admirably honest of Hely-Hutchinson to include – but that doesn’t in itself resolve the issue.
Personally, while I can’t deny being impressed by her film, it does leave me feeling as if I have trespassed on her mother’s privacy – and I’m conflicted about whether it was worth it. I am reminded of Granny’s remark: “Commitments imprison you; principles imprison you. I’m selfish, I suppose.”
France/United States, 2025, 82 minutes
Director Victoria Hely-Hutchinson
Production See Think Films
Producer Catherine Rehwinkel
International sales Catherine Rehwinkel
Cinematography Victoria Hely-Hutchinson
Editing Brad Turner
Sound design Murray Trider
With Granny, Grandpa, Lucy, Teddy, Viv & Clem, Colin, Pipi
