Avant l'hiver

Altman's The Player had a similar idea: the hero receives messages from a man he believes has a grudge against him, then starts to investigate... The doctor in this film receives flowers every day, and comes to believe that they come from a woman who, he thinks, harbors some grievance. Soon he starts to slump in surgery, his supervisor orders him to take time off, and he finds he has no appetite for anything. I admired Daniel Auteuil's performance very much; he has put on some weight and his eyes have that distant look that means he can't focus on the essential things. His wife, his son and daughter-in-law have needs and he is oblivious to all of it.

Kristin Scott Thomas gives one of her finest performances; she is both suspicious that Paul is cheating and sure that he isn't (not really a paradox). Her eyes are wonderfully expressive. Leila Bekhti didn't really fit in with the story: I didn't get a feeling of menace from her. Richard Berry as the man who never tires of carrying a torch is excellent.

Daniel Auteuil plays a doctor and Kristin Scott Thomas plays his wife. They lead a rather secluded, rather upper-class existence, in a big house, with a very big garden. He works long hours, she does not. He starts getting flowers sent to him, and who is sending them and why, is the central mystery of the film.

This is a slow film, a very, very, slow film. It starts off slowly with domestic scenes and only picks up very slowly. We are unsure about the central mystery. Different indications suggest different answers and different roads to go down.

Around half-way through the film is an unexpected scene which seem to jar with the rest of the film. It is not the most important scene in the film. However it does introduce an important theme. Although having said this, it does not introduce a development in the plot. As such then, do not expect the little scene to have any greater significance than it has. Do not expect anything more.

Film is rather like real-life. Everyday domestic matters feature strongly in the film. Accidents can happen, mistakes can be made, situations can be misunderstood.

The fragility of life is a central theme of the film. So too are personal circumstances and change of circumstances. Film is about relationships, lies, lives and loves. There is passion but it is very pent-up.

It is a slow film, a little dark, with a few brief life-enhancing moments.

Tip: Opera buffs may understand a mistake. 8/10.

I saw this film at the Leiden film festival 2013 (LIFF). This could have been the umpteenth story about a middle aged man courting a younger woman, thereby endangering not only his marriage but also risking the health of his patients while slacking off his daily job as a surgeon. But luckily it is much more, due to some complications interwoven in the script that make it interesting nevertheless.

The daily package of red roses that are delivered throughout the running time of the film, seems important and thus are we eager all the time to know who is behind it. In the end we still wonder who is sending the roses, however, but it does not really matter in hindsight as many other sub-plots take over and keep us interested.

A possible minus point is the shallow role of the surgeon's wife. She has typically not enough on her hands other than waiting for her husband to come home. Her garden is her only daily occupation that keeps her from complete boredom, so it seems. I had assumed more initiative from her side, as she is obviously not the unlearned and meek kind of woman.

All in all, I can only moderately recommend this film. It is not a total failure, however, due to several sub-plots that keeps us interested. But that is all there is. This film ranked a moderate 26th place (out of 55) for the audience award.

Before the Winter Chill, a domestic drama from three-time writer / director Philippe Claudel (I've Loved You So Long), is immediately watchable for its leads, casting Daniel Auteuil and Kristin Scott Thomas as husband and wife in a story woven around their relationships with each other and those around them. The tale is reasonably diverting, and there is enough going on to keep the viewer engaged for the running time, but the material does not aim much higher than movie-of-the-week melodrama. This it does very well certainly, and Leïla Bekhti gives an affecting performance, but it's unlikely that you'll be raving about Avant l'hiver (the film's original title) to your friends and family. Enjoy 'Before the Winter Chill' for the central performances of Auteuil and Scott Thomas, then check out Guillaume Canet's 'Little White Lies' for some real Gallic fireworks.

They could've made so much more with this story, but it has no direction, it tries to be profound, but it ultimately fails to. The ending leaves you nowhere, and you ask why you've seen this film? For the cinematics? For the actors? Hmm... For sure not for the incomplete and lack of depth of the script.