A Heart in Winter (1992)

The Worst Film Ever

Absolutely brilliant

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

This is the kind of movie that requires time to "digest" what you see and time is something we can't afford today, perhaps not really time, but patience. The movie strikes by its beautiful music and by superb acting of Beart and Auteuil. Also strikes by not having a conventional ending, a predictable one. The portrayal of the young violinist star by Beart is breathtaking. She captures the whole picture with her facial expressions, giving deep substance to her character. Camille is not a common woman, superficial with well known "needs" that are/aren't fulfilled by the end of the plot. She teaches the audience about the mysterious woman soul. Their meeting is that kind of a chance you got only once in your life. Her eyes says it all, most of the times. Auteuil plays the (also) mysterious violin crafter master, a rather discrete character that never exposes his intimate feelings. This is something remarkable on this movie, that we never know if Stephane is really good in hiding his feelings, or simply doesn't have them to the extent that he is supposed to. I mean... who could resist Camille? Another thing I love about this movie is the "undefined" relationship between the 3 main characters. Socially we know exactly how they are, but in reality, the delimiting lines are dotted. The movie allows its characters to live a "life on their own" and does not lead to any conclusion, does not judge them in any way. I have to mention Cesar's winning (!) Dussollier's performance of a middle aged man in love with a much younger woman. He is... wise and allows the plot to develop. It is also remarkable how the author manages not to fall into the prosaic love triangle by constructing Maxime. He could have easily force it one way or another, make Camille chose (how many time we saw this in movies...) or confronting Stephane, but these are all clichés that you won't find it here. For all of this I rank it 8 and recommend it to anyone tired of superheroes and fast paced special effects.

I remember having to study this movie in detail when I studied French in high school.While not overly exciting, the the very name of the movie suggests an emotional nature of some sort.Although many characters play significant roles in this movie, the focus is on violin repairman Stéphane and a rather flawed relationship with business partner Maxime, and violin musician Camille. Although Camille is betrothed to Maxime, she develops an interest in Stéphane, who although he is aware of this, does not reciprocate and even speaks about emotions and how he doesn't feel them. (It would take someone as emotionless as Stéphane not to feel Camille's pain at hearing this). The saying 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned' is very much brought to light in a later part of the movie when a very dolled up (and perhaps even slutty looking) Camille confronts Stéphane at the brasserie that serves as a common meeting place for the characters.Stéphane's 'lack of feeling' is put to the test when confronted with the situation of terminally ill elderly friend Lachaume.

I read that Claude Sautet inspired himself in the Pechorin's Diaries, a part of Mikhael Lermontov's "A Hero Of Our Time". In Phoenix Cinema blog: "For those interested–to understand Stephan's character, read Lermontov's novel A Hero of Our Time. (The novel is even mentioned in the film.) Stephan is a modern-day version of Pechorin." Now Pechorin is a complex Byronesque character that has ambiguous but plausible reasons for his apparent "winter" heart. He is a formidable character in Russian literature (like Oneguine, for instance) and the paradox of his coldness is enough to make a film director/screen writer wanting to start something. This tip should be taken into account before engaging in more audacious explanations for the character of Stéphane.

** MAJOR SPOILERS ** ......of homosexual tendency and has been in love if not a relationship with his former violin teacher. In the revealing conversation between Camille and Stephane at the cafe in the ending scene, Stephane admitted he loved "him". With hindsight, the film has dropped numerous clues on this unspoken relationship. Stephane always went to the teacher's house. The kids playing in the garden did not even react to Stephane entering the house apparently for no reason or special occasion. The teacher's maid casually asked him whether he would sleep over, implying he had done so many times before. And at the banquet at the teacher's house, the teacher said to others that Stephane was something different from all his other students. For reasons not told, quite possibly linked to this relationship, Stephane dropped out as his teacher's pupil. Not to mention the mercy killing which Stephane did. No one could have done it except someone who had been deeply in love with the person involved. One could imagine how much courage, love and grief it would take to be able to do this very act. Stephane and the teacher did not even need words to communicate. At the very same scene, Maxime was there to witness the mercy killing and finally realised the relationship between the two, and he subsequently told Camille, who realised the real reason Stephane was not attracted to her.I am not sure if the homosexual tendency of Stephane and his anti-social behaviour are inter-related. I am not sure if he chose to live in his world so as to conceal this forbidden love for his teacher. I am also not sure if by seducing Camille, Stephane was trying to push himself to see if he could really move on and fall in love with a woman. These are all open to interpretations. But the director led us to think that Stephane was at some points genuinely interested in Camille, as opposed to what he claimed to be a sheer prank in order to to get at his boss. From this we know that his homosexual tendency is not the only factor which would explain his somewhat awkward anti-social behaviour, and that he was indeed a person living in his own winter, a utterly private man who is devoid of and perhaps disdainful of showing emotions.** END OF SPOILERS ** This is a fascinating character study which is profound, intriguing and moving, and to myself is a uniquely personal movie. Daniel Auteuil is the best man to be cast as Stephane, for his unique charm, charisma and subtle seductiveness. With the make-up and costumes, he appeared beautifully masculine and exactly as what a person with those kinds of emotions and qualities would be. Excellent job done.