When Autumn Falls

The ever-inventive François Ozon offers a bittersweet tale with a twist or two, about age, youth, the past and the art of breaking the rules.

Michelle is enjoying rural retirement close to old friend Marie-Claude. Relations with her daughter are strained, but then Marie-Claude’s son enters the picture… At once character portrait, study of generational tensions and tense drama with a thriller tangent, this is one of Ozon’s more realist films – until it isn’t.

Sly storytelling and Hélène Vincent’s terrific lead performance make this a richly relishable offering.