Y aura-t-il de la neige à Noël? (1996)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Sandrine Veysset

Writers:

Sandrine Veysset (writer)
Antoinette de Robien (adaptation)

Release Date:

17 December 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A woman and her seven children live on a farm in Southern France. In spite of the hard work and the mediocre accommodation...

Awards:

7 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Dominique Reymond	...	The Mother
Daniel Duval	...	The Father
Jessica Martinez	...	Jeanne
Alexandre Roger	...	Bruno
Xavier Colonna	...	Pierrot
Fanny Rochetin	...	Marie
Flavie Chimènes	...	Blandine
Jérémy Chaix	...	Paul
Guillaume Mathonnet	...	Remi
Eric Huyard	...	Yvon
Loys Cappatti	...	Bernard
Marcel Guilloux-Delaunay	...	L'instituteur
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jeanne Noto
Julie Peysson	...	Student
Annette Pradier
Babeth Roger
Andrée Toussaint	...	La Femme
Andrée Veysset

Also Known As:

Will It Snow for Christmas? (UK)

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Finland:K-12 | Portugal:M/12 | Sweden:7 | UK:12

Company:

Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC)

Movie Connections:

Featured in Humbert Balsan, producteur rebelle (2006) (TV)

Perhaps it will, perhaps it won't!

First movie made by Sandrine Veysset and launched a week prior Christmas in 1996, "will it snow for Christmas?" was rewarded by the Louis Delluc price in 1997 and it was a beautiful commercial success in France. This commercial and critic success was partly deserved.

The director Sandrine Veysset draws an engaging description of this family who lives in a farm located in the south of France and whose living conditions aren't always easy. She shows compassion and tenderness for her characters and notably towards the mother. She also manages to making them engaging towards the spectator. As for the father, he's a violent and hateful human being. In short, he's a total trash and however, I think he never falls into the caricature. Sometimes (although it rarely happens), he can show a touch of humanism and kindness.

Moreover, "Will it snow for Christmas?" is a film without plot and where nearly nothing happens. However, you aren't bored because Veysset succeeds in arousing the spectator's interest and making the work sequences gripping.

In spite of these qualities, "Will it snow for Christmas?" also includes certain weaknesses and unlikelihoods, especially with the mother, how could she have seven children with a man she hates? Moreover, work in a farm is quite hard especially for young children but in the movie, they don't seem to suffer a lot even if they complain from time to time. You can also judge the last sequence as a convenient and a bit syrupy sequence.

Even if "Will it snow for Christmas?" isn't a perfect movie due to an important number of faults, it remains watchable.