Quand vient l'automne

"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.

When is a crime not a crime? That seems to be a question French films are asking lately. Latest to explore this issue is Francois Ozon in his new film with the awkwardly translated title WHEN FALL IS COMING. The main story concerns a woman, Michelle, and the strained relationship with her daughter. The daughter right off the bat appears eager for her mother to die so she can inherit the lovely country home, even though Michelle has already given her the beautiful large apartment in the city. The whole film is beautifully photographed with the autumn foliage providing a spectacular backdrop. It's mushroom season. The daughter, an embittered divorcee, brings her young son to visit his grandmother, Michelle. Michelle and her grandson enjoy a very loving relationship. Michelle makes lunch featuring a sumptuous mushroom dish. After lunch, she and her grandson go on an outing together. They return to find that the daughter has fallen ill, apparently from having eaten a poison mushroom. The daughter accuses her mother of deliberately trying to poison her. The police investigate. The cops are sympathetic, but the daughter threatens to keep her grandson away from his grandmother. It turns out that Michelle has an unsavory past, which is at the root of her daughter's bitterness. Michelle's best friend is Marie-Claude, whom she accompanies to visit her son Vincent, who is imprisoned for some unstated crime. (At one point we see him going to a gay cruising ground.) Apparently, he's basically a good person who just has a lot of bad habits that get him into trouble. He loves Michelle, who has always been kind to him. When Marie-Claude dies, he becomes closer to Michelle and wants to help smooth things over between her and her daughter. I don't want to include spoilers, but things take a negative turn at this point, raising a lot of questions. The police become suspicious and step up their investigation of Michelle and Vincent. This is an intelligent and compelling film for adults. There are no car chases, explosions, or vulgar jokes. It held my attention all the way through, despite the unsensational approach to the material. Performances are all excellent, especially Helene Vincent as Michelle. (Who says that there are no good roles for older women? Maybe in Hollywood, but the French have given us a great one in this film.) The more I think about this film, the more I appreciate it.

A grandma is hated by her daughter. When a small reunion with her daughter and her grandson turned into an incident, all things within the small family turns upside down and complicated.

I personally had not watched any Ozon films BUT I always hear great things about him. He is not that famous across the pond BUT from what I gather from French redditors - he is one of the most respected French Directors living right now. I personally had not watch a film of his since none really piqued my curiosity but this film was a nice surprise.

Firstly, the first half is too unsubtle. Its so on the nose with all the vitriol that it kind of grates AND truly made it expected that there is something that will happen.

But when it did happen, it really took speed on the pedal.

The twist and turns in the later 2/3 of the film is so well calibrated AND while very convoluted makes such a wonderful AND heartwarming film. A lovely choice to make the score whimsical score given how insane and mysterious the twist and turns the film will go. It really set this semi-serious tone. It really took time to peak up BUT it stayed there.

I think I will seek his work. While the script has its problem, He seems like a great technician. The last half of this film is great and tight - though very convoluted. I definitely think he has better films in his repertoire.

Recommended.

PS: QCinema Issue#2 - The initial video has a weird discoloration and had to be replayed within 4-5 minutes in. My Initial screening of Ghost Cat, Anzu was cancelled AND that was flaring me up. Tomorrow, there will be a typhoon AND its not getting better for me LOL.

PPS: The main actor was a former comedian lol. But the French reviews are very concerned who is the gay one, isn't it him? He was the one staying out of dark parks AND has not married. Lol.

"Quand vient l'automne" can be translated as "When fall comes". In this film this can be taken literally as the film has many beautiful images of fall but also figuratively as the film is about two old ladies who are overtaken by their own past.

The film starts with one of the old ladies serving a meal of self-picked mushrooms to her daughter. The daugther becomes very sick but survives. Because the tension between the daughter and mother was already there before the meal the question is, was this an accident or an assassination attempt? This is the beginning of a film full of plot twists.

The mushroom poisoning theme made me think of "Fiorile" (1993, Paolo and Vittorio Taviani).

The film full of plot twists made me think of the earlier Ozon movie "Huit femmes" (2002).

Compared to "Quand vient l'automne" "Huit femmes" is a purely artifical movie. "Quand vient l'automne" is much more naturalistic although not in every respect plausible.

In "Huit femmes" there are only female characters, in "Quand vient l'automne" there are also male characters, but not in a father role. There seem to be only mothers.

"Huit femmes" is a pure "who-donnit", "Quand vient l'automne" is much more of the "why-did he/she do it" nature

"Quand vient l'automne" is entertainment in the first place. It is good entertainment but in my opinion a bit less entertaining as "Huit femmes". This is due to the fact that the film contains a few little flaws. I will mention two of them.

For the first one I return to the accident / assassination question I mentioned in the beginning of this review. At the start of the film memory disorder is suggested as a third possible reason by way of a few "absences" of the main character. This possibility remains up in the air for the rest of the film.

In the second place the character of daughter Valérie is very one dimensional (and very unsympathetic). Valérie is played by Ludivine Sagnier, who can do much better. She proved this for example in (you might guess it) .... "Huit femmes".

An ordinary film.

There's no wow factor in this movie at all. It's plain and simple, nothing more nothing less. It's straightforward in the way it tells a story and the story itself is nothing deep nor unique. The acting isn't too bad and does make the film a bit more engaging. The main aspect of the movie that carried it entirely is the cinematography, the scenes are beautifully rendered and balanced to create this almost welcoming, engulfing atmosphere. Every scene is a pleasure to the eye and focuses on every little detail to make it as realistic and genuine as possible. Overall a decent film, nothing special.