Tout un hiver sans feu

8.5/10. Watched this yesterday evening on DVD. I first saw it about a year ago on the big screen up in Bern, and happily it's one of those movies that actually improves with a second viewing.

Deceptively simple, Tout un hiver covers ground both personal and political in its portrayal of a grief-stricken man and woman. He's a Swiss farmer forced to work at a factory to make ends meet; she's a teacher from Kosovo working in the factory's kitchen. Both have experienced profound loss that has cut them off from the worlds they knew, and both are being forced to lean on their strength and postpone their suffering.

Because both are married (albeit to absent spouses) their compassion for each other is naturally frowned upon. But this is a movie primarily about healing, and all opportunities for cheap drama are never indulged.

Despite some strong festival screenings (it won two awards at the Venice Film Festival in 2004), Tout un hiver was not seen much outside Switzerland, which is a shame, as it was one of the best movies I saw last year. Hopefully you'll stumble across it at some point.