I'm Going Home 2002

The film begins in a vibrant theater where Eugène Ionesco’s Exit the King is being performed. The spotlight is on Gilbert Valence, a celebrated theater actor who portrays the King. However, the atmosphere turns somber when he receives devastating news about the tragic loss of his wife, daughter, and son-in-law in a car accident. Suddenly faced with the responsibility of raising his young grandson, Serge, Gilbert’s life takes a significant turn.

As time goes on, Valence appears to be coping with his grief, engaging in the hustle and bustle of Paris life. With the assistance of his housekeeper, he dutifully cares for his 9-year-old grandson. He also takes on the demanding role of Prospero in a French adaptation of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Despite his stature as a veteran of the stage, he chooses to decline lucrative offers for low-brow television gigs, wishing to maintain his artistic integrity.

However, an urgent call changes his course when American filmmaker John Crawford seeks an actor to portray the young Irishman Buck Mulligan in a film version of James Joyce’s Ulysses. With just three days to prepare for the shoot in Paris, Valence finds himself cornered into accepting the role. This decision proves to be a miscalculation as the filming progresses; Valence grapples with the language barrier, his unpreparedness, and the weight of his years. During the shoot, feeling utterly out of place, he resigns to simply state, > “Je rentre à la maison,” before walking off the set.