L’hiver et le 15 août

On the cold lands of the Massif Central, word has it that there are only two seasons: winter and 15 August. As they travel through them, four isolated locals will have to confide in each other. While Jean-Baptiste Perret’s project soon proves it is not deprived of a certain humour, it is tenderness which turns out to be the key. Like the animals « trapped » by the video that opens the film, Jean-Marc, Christiane, Jean-Claude and Marion seem to be rather free, free enough to enjoy their own loneliness. Captured in these peaceful frames, their gestures and words follow an unpredictable flow, such as Jean-Marc bluntly saying « I am not doing well these days » as an introduction. Urgent forces whose obviousness and process are underlined by Jean-Baptiste Perret. L’Hiver et le 15 août is not a caricature and takes the time to collect words as one films the passing of clouds: with no preconceptions, just the pleasure to wait and be surprised. As dialogues and chance meetings go by, we infer their hobbies and beliefs, some anxieties and a relief that they all hope for. As an invisible walker, the fifth inhabitant of the mountain, Jean-Baptiste Perret designs through L’Hiver et le 15 août his own cure, that he offers the audience.(VP)