Quand vient l'automne

Ozon masterfully tells a rural tale of family intrigue that raises more questions than is answers. That is all by design; the key pieces of the jigsaw puzzle happen off-screen, leaving the audience to speculate on degrees of culpability. Hélène Vincent as Michelle gives a masterclass in nuanced expressions. Michelle is a woman with a colorful past, one she neither tries to hide or revels in. We get glimpses of her attitude in a confident unspoken greeting to former co-workers at a funeral. In her relationship with her daughter, is Michelle the abuser or the abused?

Pierre Lottin as Vincent is equally enigmatic. His devotion to Michelle seems at first admirable, but then after a Paris visit, takes on shadows. If this pair are as evil as certain signs hint at, then Vincent is cult follower to Michelle's guru leadership.

A mother's devotion to her son is the stuff of legend, but this film suggests a grandmother's attachment to her grandson might just outstrip that. This film is both delightful and disturbing by turn. Classy, nuanced filmmaking that uses ambiguity in the right way.

Slow and predictable - to the point that I found my eyes closing during some scenes. A film that aims to provoke introspection or reflection should at least offer some meaningful insight. This one felt utterly flat: 2 hours and 9 Euros wasted.

To be fair, I wasn't the only one with this reaction - I saw similar expressions of disinterest in the theater.

The ambiguity of certain characters could have been intriguing, but it was handled carelessly. In some ways, it reminded me of the numbing dullness typical of Bertrand Tavernier's films - highly praised, yet hollow.

Some expressions - from the grandson, the friend's son, the daughter - hint at deeper emotions. But everything is left to the viewer's imagination. And that raises a question: if I'm expected to imagine everything, why go to the cinema at all?

Most Ozon's films have something theatrical about them; not all of them though and it's not easy to pinpoint what exactly it is that makes them feel this way. However, what is clear, that something makes them charming, character-oriented, very pronounced and beautifully down-to-earth.

The plot is quite simple at the beginning but it twists itself further on and as the whole story unfolds, it becomes more intriguing thus diversifying the genre into more of a thriller or even a detective story. For almost two hours, we are observing lower middle class family members dealing with (or not) with their past (impossible to change) and present problems (Ozon focuses on those this time, and he is being hopeful in a very sweet way). The autumn in the film is a bit sad yet colorful and very beautiful, which is an obvious allegory to a human life. We become more aware of the mistakes of the past, but at the same time we have some more life to live, and we have those significant others that we love and live for. Autumn is the right time to re-establish the values, to accept and to forgive.

"Michelle" (Hélène Vincent) lives a solitary life in her rural home where she is eagerly anticipating the imminent arrival of her daughter "Valérie" (Ludvine Sagnier) and the apple of her eye, grandson "Lucas" (Garlan Erlos who morphs, uncannily, into the older Paul Beaurepaire). In preparation for this visit, she goes with best friend "Marie-Claude" (Josiane Balasko) to pick mushrooms. This latter lady has problems of her own, with her son "Vincent" (Pierre Lottin) currently incarcerated for a crime we know little about. Anyway, when the family arrive it becomes clear that the mother/daughter relationship isn't that great - a situation borne from how "Michelle" made her living and of her daughter's impending divorce and that only worsens when a dodgy mushroom leaves one in hospital and "Michelle" essentially barred from seeing "Lucas". Meanwhile, "Vincent" gets out of jail so "Michelle" kindly gives him a job managing her extensive garden and that's when he overhears a conversation between the two women that demonstrates the level of frustrating despair felt by the now estranged grandmother. He decides to see if he can help, with tragic results that end up - well is it a whodunnit or is not? Is it an intricate web of considered scheming or just an accident and some coincidences? It's that element of uncertainty, coupled with strong performances from just about everyone than makes this story worth watching. There are questions asked that aren't directly answered, we are encouraged to conclude or assume but given some quite conflicting clues to keep us interested and by the conclusion of the film there's even the vaguest hint of a winking bromance! The photography and the audio mixing are gently effective and the film, though at times a little repetitive, delivers us a poignant look at loneliness, stigma, loyalty and love.

Well, François Ozon has done it again: a true masterpiece. A beautiful film about deep human feelings and insights. Only Frantz was perhaps a bit better of all the works of Ozon, of wnom I have seen a lot of movies.

This is the second best movie I have seen so far in 2024, at the cinema, the only place where one can appreciate a movie, just behind 'Le Royaume'. After 'Quand vient l'automne' is 'Goodbye Julia' on number 3, followed by 'Winter Break / The Holdovers', 'C'è ancora domani', 'Past Lives', 'Lee', 'Io Capitano' and 'Radical'.

The story telling of 'Quand vient l'automne' is mesmerizing and so well written. The use of automn colours brings so much power and strength to the movie A must watch!