The aging but elegant Françoise takes pride in her daughter’s accomplishments, however, the latter meets a sudden and violent death. The devastated woman decides to escape to a secluded place and withdraw into herself. Via a sensitive and aesthetically refined drama, the film reflects upon a difficult life situation, and also considers whether art has the ability to heal. –Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
Catherine Martin (b. 1958, Hull, Québec) studied visual arts and went on to take courses in film and photography at Concordia University in Montreal. She began as a film editor. Her film African Nights (Nuits d’Afrique, 1990) won her Best Medium-Length Film from L’Association québécoise des critiques de cinéma (AQCC). Her documentary film Océan (2002) was selected for the international competition at the Nyon festival. Her feature debut Marriages (2001) won Best Screenplay at the Montreal IFF; it was also voted Quebecois Film of the Year and was screened at the 52nd Berlinale. Two of her films from 2006 were also shown at Berlin: the drama In the Cities (Dans les villes) and the documentary The Spirit of Places (L’esprit des lieux). Other films by this director have also been screened and awarded at numerous film festivals, including Toronto, Shanghai and Oberhausen. —KVIFF
A woman loses her gifted, musician daughter while in the prime of her life. The film as you would expect is about grief and mourning. Unfortunately there are only so many scenes of a woman sitting motionless in the dark that I can watch. The story never seemed to develop then finally resolved with an 'okay, moving on' that just didn't fit for me. Beautiful location. 2 stars
