Sandrine Veysset's first feature is a film that slowly grows in power and impact until its extraordinary resolution. There is no heating, no plumbing, but everyone is happy - most of the time. That changes, though, when the children's father arrives in his red truck to load the latest crop. The tyrannical father, who has a wife and home elsewhere, uses this second family virtually as slave labor, asserting his authority in a series of malevolent acts. The mother is the center of the children's lives, loving them with a fierce pride, and they respond by rallying around her unwavering spirit.
Life is a series of small pleasures, threatened intermittently by their unpredictable father.
Veysset details with an unsentimental eye the rhythms and realities of the family's life, moving from summer through fall and on to winter, where Christmas stands as a beacon of hope for all.