Pierre impulsively ended his life ten years ago, handing over the role of father to Nora's child to Ismaël two years later. Watching Ismaël as hysterical and cynical for most of the film, it's initially hard to imagine how he fits the role.
Ismaël's father is probably the most positive character, and the two scenes of the supermarket robbery and the father and son fitness make people laugh. The old man's insistence on adopting his nephew influenced Ismaël's thinking twice about adopting Elias.
Nora's father wrote a deep hatred for his daughter before his death - born of love. The scene between the father and daughter that reminds me the most is when he told her that he had wiped the fingerprints off the gun for her.
And then there's Ismaël at the end of the credits, a father who finally regains incredible sanity and wisdom he never had before. It's not that he doesn't want to be a father in the true sense, but it should be what he said, that Elias was another important person besides his mother when he was growing up.
View more about Kings & Queen reviews
