Des vents contraires

For most directors a first film is a major event of their artistic lives. It can make or break many a career. French actor/director Jalil Lespert was not so lucky as a director when his first film '24 Mesures' turned out to be a colossal commercial as well as critical failure. It was so unpopular that not many viewers bothered even to think about it. It is nice to learn that he has not repeated old mistakes of the past in his latest film "Des Vents Contraires" which reveals itself as a more mature work. It concerns the impact which a married woman's disappearance has on her husband and children. Being an actor himself,Jalil Lespert has revealed himself as an actor's director by showing remarkable maturity especially in the manner he has handled leading actors. Apart from its insistence on an inquiry, two minor themes have been covered namely brother-brother relationship and getting used to life in a new surrounding. As an actor playing the part of a single father who is forced to look after his children Benoît Magimel is brilliant. He conveys the genuine angst of the person whose life is turned upside down when his wife disappears. His performance enable viewers to ascertain how and why things go wrong in a relationship to such a large extent that a partner is compelled to leave the household ?