Y aura-t-il de la neige à Noël?

Thank you to viewers who stayed to the end, that's what the credits say!

It is true that some people left the house after twenty minutes. I have felt amazed, puzzled, wondered, what a beautiful movie! What a strange movie to!

Usually the screenplay, or the director, takes the spectator in consideration and explains to the viewers what it is all about. Not here: suddenly, you are in this farm, people live their lives, don't seem to realize you are there, they work and play and toil, and laugh and cry, and you are still there and you have to make it up for yourself. And you would like so much to be in the screen with them, and talk to them and try to help, and love them, and... and.. and.. And you are hot in the summer and you are so cold in the winter when she picks cabbages (or is it celeriac?) If I refer to Pierrot le Fou, it is because I have not seen anything so different and so catching since.

Thank you, thank you for such a beautiful movie. I'm so glad you ran out of gas!

Set in the rural Southern France of the 70's, this partly autobiographical movie chronicles a year in the life of a mother and her seven children, all working in the fruit and vegetable farm owned by the father, a handsome domestic tyrant who has another "official" family in a nearby town. The beauty of this film lays in its apparent simplicity, that mixes an almost documentary approach (the depiction of country life is nothing like you usually see in movies ; it was shot in continuity from summer to winter) with something close to the magic of a fairy tale. It's life, it's perhaps as realistic is it can be, and yet it's transmuted in something else. The happy, carefree children are endangered elves, and the only protection for these `little ones' (who don't seem to have individual names) is the warm, thick mantle of love offered by their dignified queen of a mother, who, in turn, can hardly resist the animal attraction of her `ogre'. Fortunately, there is no drama, no pathos, no hysteria, no violence shown. They're not necessary because we know what's going on. Instead, other images, like those of the children playing in the hay or running under a plastic cover, or the final shot have already turned this movie into an instant classic.

Life in a French farm is as hard as in every farm in this world. As a matter of fact life is hard everywhere for those who have to work to make their own living. Mother Earth only yields its fruit if men work hard on it for that purpose. But beyond this men (and women)have their own problems and troubles in their mutual relationships. In this story we have a man who lives a double marital life. He's got his legitimate spouse in town with their kids but he's got another woman in his farm also with a lot of children she's got of him. Domestic conflict arises very often adding up to the harshness of farm life with all its uncomfortable features. The children are the noblest and purest element of the story with their innocence and purity. An in the end the snow falls on the fields like a symbol of purity of nature over man's misery and filth. The farmer's mistress looks at the falling snow through the window and she feels like if the snow were falling on her distressed soul too curing it of its deep wounds. This movie is filmed with utmost naturalistic simplicity in a documentary style with no background music. In conclusion we can say that if it is not a great movie at least it's a movie which tells us a story of true and real life in a very realistic way I mean a film that doesn't lie to us.

Since Y AURA-T-IL DE LA NEIGE A NOEL? often appears to be a documentary, the film succeeds in reflecting the gritty realism of French farming society, the plight of the minorities working in it (particularly women and children), and the dysfunctional families this society spawns. These are universal themes. They are played out primarily by a young mother of seven children, shamelessly exploited as farmhands by her man, who has a "legitimate family" in a nearby village. Their daily life is very naturally exposed on film, accentuated by the changing nuances of the different seasons of the year, ending in winter, during "Noel" or Christmas. All this, however, sounds a lot better than it plays on the screen. Even at 90 minutes, the film seems overly long, and is tedious watching for most audiences. There may not be a more captivating way to address these issues, but ultimately, it is a bore for all but die-hard fans of the social realism genre.

First movie made by Sandrine Veysset and launched a week prior Christmas in 1996, "will it snow for Christmas?" was rewarded by the Louis Delluc price in 1997 and it was a beautiful commercial success in France. This commercial and critic success was partly deserved.

The director Sandrine Veysset draws an engaging description of this family who lives in a farm located in the south of France and whose living conditions aren't always easy. She shows compassion and tenderness for her characters and notably towards the mother. She also manages to making them engaging towards the spectator. As for the father, he's a violent and hateful human being. In short, he's a total trash and however, I think he never falls into the caricature. Sometimes (although it rarely happens), he can show a touch of humanism and kindness.

Moreover, "Will it snow for Christmas?" is a film without plot and where nearly nothing happens. However, you aren't bored because Veysset succeeds in arousing the spectator's interest and making the work sequences gripping.

In spite of these qualities, "Will it snow for Christmas?" also includes certain weaknesses and unlikelihoods, especially with the mother, how could she have seven children with a man she hates? Moreover, work in a farm is quite hard especially for young children but in the movie, they don't seem to suffer a lot even if they complain from time to time. You can also judge the last sequence as a convenient and a bit syrupy sequence.

Even if "Will it snow for Christmas?" isn't a perfect movie due to an important number of faults, it remains watchable.