In “When Autumn Comes” released on October 2, François Ozon focuses on a grandmother who fights against her daughter’s resentments to continue seeing her grandson. A drama tinged with thriller, with powerful emotion, illuminated by the presence of Josiane Balasko and, above all, Hélène Vincent.
There are films that grab you without warning, catch you by surprise and leave you in a somewhat dazed state, shaken by an unexpected emotion. “When Autumn Comes” had not prepared us for such an emotional charge, carried moreover by Hélène Vincent, an actress accustomed to supporting roles (“Bernie”, “Life is a long quiet river”, “Quelques Heures spring”). And of which it is here, and it is almost astonishing to note, the first main character despite a career of more than fifty years and almost as many films made.
>> Listen to an interview with Hélène Vincent on the Vertigo show:
An aura of ambiguity
Hélène Vincent, 81 years old, had accustomed us well to the richness and subtlety of her repertoire. She exceeds expectations by playing Michelle, a grandmother with a troubled past who lives peacefully, withdrawn in her house in Burgundy, and spends her time with her best friend Marie-Claude (Josiane Balasko), with whom she likes to go mushroom hunting.
Her great joy remains taking care of her grandson, Lucas, whom her daughter Valérie (Ludivine Sagnier), very cold and distant towards her, drops off for her for the All Saints’ Day holidays. But a culinary accident, involving poisonous mushrooms, sends Valérie to the hospital. The daughter accuses her mother of knowingly poisoning her and now prevents Michelle from seeing Lucas again. From there, a tragic cycle begins.
Accident or voluntary act? “When Autumn Comes” will never cease to envelop its heroine in an aura of ambiguity which raises troubled and deep questions about the bonds uniting parents to their children. Links that François Ozon will push towards a form of overwhelming reconciliation by inoculating this certainly incredible, but nonetheless realistic, story with a homeopathic dose of the fantastic.
>> See the cinema debate dedicated to the film “When Autumn Comes”:
An unexpected sweetness
Freed from the sarcasm or second degree that sometimes permeates his films, the filmmaker finds here an ideal tone, where apparent gentleness frolics hand in hand with death. And looks with generosity, empathy and contagious love at his heroine, a false granny cake whose delicate past reveals her as a discreet fighter, a warrior with unknown victories, a woman who has weathered many storms to find, in a little countryside and the love of a grandson, the possibility of being free.
If it flirts with the cinema of Claude Chabrol, or the novels of Simenon, in its way of exploring the gray areas which shape our humanity, “When Autumn Comes” is all the more touching as it highlights light, outside of clichés, the essential transmission between generations. And manages, with wonderful modesty, to make our throats close in front of the beautiful and serene image of a woman lying in nature.
Rafael Wolf/sc
“When autumn comes” by François Ozon, with Hélène Vincent, Josiane Balasko, Ludivine Sagnier, Pierre Lottin. To be seen in French-speaking cinemas since October 2, 2024.
Note: 4/5
