A character study about a man who battled his alcohol dependency as well as having suffered the departure of Mireille, his wife, is the basis of Jean-Pierre Denis interesting take on a novel by Pierre Peju, which we have not read. It was adapted by the director, and his collaborator, Yvon Rouve. It is clear from the start, the film was tailor made for Olivier Gourmet, the Belgian actor, a man who embodies the man in the center of the action, Etienne Vollard.
Etienne is a man with a surprising mind. He is quite familiar with books, which is a bonus for a man who works in a book store dealing with literature. Unknown to Etienne, a single mother, Pascale Blanchot, is having a hard time because her total lack of punctuality. Pascale has a daughter in school, but most of the time, she is late. Pointing out the route home one day, she is not prepared for the turn of events when young Eva, not being met, decides to go by herself. Fate intervenes as Etienne is driving and the girl, crossing a street, is hit by the car.
What follows is a small tragedy. Because of his own past, Etienne feels guilty for striking Eva, when in reality, it was not his own fault. Compounding on the problem, Pascale, who is aimless, decides to go work at a different city, leaving Eva behind in a rehab institution. Etienne's guilt gets the best of him. He is seen going to the clinic, first reading to her, later trying to get her out of the state in which the girl experiences. In moments where his despair gets the best of him, he goes into the nearby mountains and climbs them. Nothing prepares us for the outcome of this strange relationship between the unresponsive Eva and Etienne while the absent mother stays away.
Olivier Gourmet does a fabulous job impersonating the lonely Etienne. The actor gives an intense reading to the role he was meant to play. As he has proved with his work in his native country, he continues to enhance anything he is asked to play. Canadian born actress Marie-Josee Crozet has the unwelcome task to give life to a monster of a mother, as is the case with her take on Pascale. Young Bertile Noel-Bruneau, a delightful red headed doll, shows she is a natural.
Etienne is a man with a surprising mind. He is quite familiar with books, which is a bonus for a man who works in a book store dealing with literature. Unknown to Etienne, a single mother, Pascale Blanchot, is having a hard time because her total lack of punctuality. Pascale has a daughter in school, but most of the time, she is late. Pointing out the route home one day, she is not prepared for the turn of events when young Eva, not being met, decides to go by herself. Fate intervenes as Etienne is driving and the girl, crossing a street, is hit by the car.
What follows is a small tragedy. Because of his own past, Etienne feels guilty for striking Eva, when in reality, it was not his own fault. Compounding on the problem, Pascale, who is aimless, decides to go work at a different city, leaving Eva behind in a rehab institution. Etienne's guilt gets the best of him. He is seen going to the clinic, first reading to her, later trying to get her out of the state in which the girl experiences. In moments where his despair gets the best of him, he goes into the nearby mountains and climbs them. Nothing prepares us for the outcome of this strange relationship between the unresponsive Eva and Etienne while the absent mother stays away.
Olivier Gourmet does a fabulous job impersonating the lonely Etienne. The actor gives an intense reading to the role he was meant to play. As he has proved with his work in his native country, he continues to enhance anything he is asked to play. Canadian born actress Marie-Josee Crozet has the unwelcome task to give life to a monster of a mother, as is the case with her take on Pascale. Young Bertile Noel-Bruneau, a delightful red headed doll, shows she is a natural.