A deceptively peaceful drama by François Ozon explores life in the countryside, toxic mushrooms, and ghosts of the past.
Pretty and jolly Michelle (Hélène Vincent), now living away from Paris, is expecting her daughter Valerie (Ludivine Sagnier) and grandson for dinner: she has cooked wild mushrooms and baked her classic cake. But the dinner ends in disaster. Valerie is admitted to a hospital with mushroom poisoning. This puts an end to the already complicated mother-daughter relationship. Valerie cannot forgive Michelle for her past career as a sex worker. She forbids Michelle to see her beloved grandson, which Michelle finds very upsetting. Not long after this, Valerie dies. The police suspect that Valerie’s sudden death might have something to do with Michelle, and one day an officer turns up at her door.
As well as being the season of red and yellow leaves and mushrooms, fall is an allegory of our old age and the loneliness it brings. François Ozon cleverly reconsiders the stereotypes about a passive old age and lovely and god-fearing old ladies. Michelle speaks about her difficult past as a sex worker with regret, but without any shame. It was through her work that she met her best friend and made enough money to buy real estate in Paris and elsewhere. People’s prejudice against her past overshadows her relationship with her daughter and her image in the eyes of her neighbours and the police. The tense atmosphere and Ozon’s trademark ambiguity created through holes in the storyline suggest images of a crime which may or may not have happened.
The film won Best Screenplay (François Ozon, Philippe Piazzo) and Best Supporting Actor (Pierre Lottin) at the 72nd San Sebastian Film Festival.
The film will be screened in French with Russian subtitles.
When Fall Is Coming
Director: François Ozon
France, 2024. 102 min
18+
