‘When Fall is Coming’ REVIEW: A Meaningless Mystery
‘When Fall is Coming’ REVIEW: A Meaningless Mystery
Michelle (Héléné Vincent) and Marie-Claude (Josiane Balasko) take a walk in the Burgundy forest | Still taken from BFI’s page
It’s quite remarkable to note that QCinema has had Francois Ozon on their rotation since 2018 and has been willing to put out occasional work from the French filmmaker regardless of their quality.
The brief backstory with Ozon is that he is primarily a director intent on deconstructing suburban family life, utilizing the power of film to explore rather unorthodox families and relationships within a home. The effect tends to wane so easily despite utilizing a slew of subtle comedic moments and weird situations. Stuff like Sitcom and Swimming Pool also tend to show Ozon as having an eye for a quietly sexual touch. When Fall is Coming, surprisingly understates his most common tropes and reveals something more empty than meaningful.
Ozon’s 2024 film finds itself in the auspices of the French village of Burgundy, where a retired lady named Michelle spends her days in the garden and wandering the forest with her neighbor and best friend Marie-Claude. She lives a rather calm and peaceful life, only disturbed when a planned vacation with her daughter and grandson go awry and Marie-Claude’s son returns from prison.
Central to the film is an emphasis on making amends, where Michelle’s seedy past deems her forsaken enough by her own daughter that she only wishes to try and make things right for her son, as well as her best friend’s recently freed kid. It’s actually not as clear as one would hope, considering how slow and lackadaisical the world of When Fall is Coming behaves.
When Fall is Coming is rather ordinary and at times insufferable, to say the least. When the film takes a sickly turn as a tragic event hits the characters, the details become sparsely produced in service of creating an uneventful mystery, one which does not seem to have any meaningful presence whether it’s the intrigue or the leads.
The intrigue within an Ozon film tends to operate around a curiosity which invites investigation into his characters, as the film does spend an inordinate amount of time pointing out undisclosed relationships involving specific characters. However, the inquiry into what their motivations are leaves way too much out in the open to be examined thoroughly. It’s quite French in its ambiguity, to be frank.
Michelle reacts to some news from an investigating officer | Still taken from YouTube
Specific to the style of this film is a preference for hindered and mysterious writing that curiously prefers to pace itself ever so slowly, only inviting such an incredibly dull allure to an otherwise fascinating mystique in the French autumn. What When Fall is Coming makes up for in the lush and vibrant scenery, it immediately pulls down everything else through unwarranted pauses and a preference for an understated, low-impact reveal about the backstories of Michelle and Marie-Claude. The slight twist itself barely makes a dent where the film winds up ever so hazy in its presentation.
If anything, When Fall is Coming only finds itself to be treated with some care, ending up another vapid attempt in one of Ozon's many to demystify the stable French countryside. It’s a style that has been tried commonly by him, but When Fall is Coming falls right into the realm of works that could easily be forgotten, it begs to ask if there was any redemption ever materialized to begin with.
When Fall Is Coming is part of QCinema 2024’s lineup under the Screen International category.
