... but it'll still be snowing in July, metaphorically at least, for this mother and her seven children. By pure coincidence I saw this film within days of Au Hasard Balthazar so that I couldn't help but be struck by the similarities, both feature, for example, the abuse of dumb animals but in the former Balthazar really IS an animal whilst in the latter it is Dominique Reymond who is both dumb first for ever getting involved with Daniel Duval and second for staying with him to BE abused by him and there is, of course, an extra twist in that Duval is himself an animal so that the end product is one animal abusing not only a dumb woman but also their own children. In its cyclical nature the film also resembles Etre et Avoir without the joy. There is no doubt that Sandrine Veysset has written and directed a fine film which treads a fine line between documentary and fiction. We are plunged into the action with no preparing the ground - ironic in a film in which farming plays such a large part - and left to work out that Reymonde has, for reasons not explained and thus open to such interpretations as that old catch-all low self esteem, at some time in the past become the mistress cum slave of Duval who in turn has a legal wife and another family in a neighbouring village. He seems to be totally without finer feelings and views his mistress and their seven children as cheap labour first, second and last and at one point he even accuses Reymonde of refusing to 'service' him which speaks volumes of how he sees her although he has already provided an insight into his sensitivity when he makes sexual overtures to his own daughter, which is why Reymonde is reluctant to continue sexual relations with him. The thing that Reymonde has in spades is both a highly developed maternal instinct and an incredible amount of love for her children which is evident in everything she does. If ever a film illustrated Oscar Wilde's oft-quoted 'we are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars' it is surely this wonderful movie. Overwhelming.
Review of Will It Snow for Christmas?
