Living in Strasbourg, teaching Baroque music at a university, being a single parent to his teenage daughter Irina (Lisa Cipriani), singing in a choir, doing volunteer reading for patients at a local hospital, and living with his eccentric brother Luigi (Neri Marcore – The Tourist), who never leaves the flat, makes for a very full life for widower Alessandro (Stefano Accorsi – The Last Kiss).  Or so he believes.

There are several problems in Alessandro’s life.  Actually he is quite a lonely man.  With no real love in his life since his wife died in a car accident when Irina was quite young.  It has become so frustrating to Irina and Luigi that they actually open up an account for him on an online dating site and talk to women pretending to be Alessandro.  What they don’t know is that the women they end up conversing with is actually Alessandro’s boss at the university.  And the conversations, that Luigi writes, get quite graphic.  Can you say awkward?

Secondly, his brother Luigi is an anarchist who refuses to leave the flat until Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s prime minister, steps down.  He also contributes nothing to the running of the household financially.  Luigi paints, but refuses to sell them.  As a result he and Alessandro fight often.

Lastly, and probably most important, is that Irina, who he has raised alone since she was five months old and as a result has always been very close to, is in that transition period between girl and young woman.  Alessandro feels her pulling away and doesn’t know how to handle it.  Irina no longer wants to be treated as a little girl, but rather as an adult and this is hard for her father.  When he finds out from a friends that Irina has a boyfriend he is totally at his wit’s end.

When the woman he has been reading to at the hospital, Agathe (Anouk Aimée – 8 ½, La Dolce Vita), dies and that brings her daughter Florence (Clotilde Courau – La Vie En Rose, Map of the Human Heart) into Alessandro’s life, will he take a chance on love?

This is a change for screenwriter/director Philippe Claudel (I’ve Loved You So Long) as it is a bit lighter of a film than we are used to from him.  That doesn’t mean that everything in it is suddenly fine and dandy.  More like there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  Less pessimism and more hope.  A more watchable product for most.  Realism is paramount for Claudel.  Presenting a true picture of life is what he does.  With Tous les Soleils he is able to mix smiles and tears flawlessly.  Even when touching upon the theme of death, which runs throughout the film, he uses a lighter touch.

Everything about the film is very natural and engaging.  These are real people with real concerns and flaws.  They look and act like us.  Very easy film to get “involved” with.