Un coeur en hiver

Plot synopsis:
"Un Coeur en Hiver" translates as "A Heart in Winter". The three main characters are: the enigmatic violin craftsman (luthier) Stéphane (Daniel Auteuil); the charismatic violin shop owner Maxime (André Dussollier); and the impossibly beautiful violinist Camille (Emmanuelle Béart). Stéphane and Maxime are men perhaps in their early forties. Camille is a women in her late twenties. The age difference is significant if not unseamly.The overriding questions the movie poses are "Whose heart is 'in winter'?" and "Why?"Stéphane is so unemotional that it is easy to assume that the title refers to him. See the end for a spolier that explains why his heart is this way.In the typical French style, the plot/dialogue is fairly minimalist, leaving long stretches during which the viewer can ponder the existential questions it poses. The fact that it is in French with English subtitles makes it harder for the English viewer to catch all the subtleties, while simultaneously heightening the sense of being unconnected, especially to Stéphane.The plot is almost non-existent. Stéphane works for Maxime in his high-end violin repair shop. Camille is a concert violinist who Maxime woos both as a customer and a love interest. Stéphane watches Maxime and Camille become a couple, with implied jealousy. In a series of interactions over the tuning/repair of the violin, we see Camille's interest in Stéphane grow. Maxime and Stéphane seem to be polar opposites. Maxime is a charismatic bon vivant businessman, and Stéphane seems to be a painfully shy, meticulous craftsman.In a typical formula movie, the plot would go as follows: Girl falls for handsome/rich/athletic/shallow alpha man. Girls meets shy/kind/thoughtful underdog loser. Girl learns to love underdog who vanquishes the alpha male in a final showdown by using his wit to defeat brawn.In this movie, girl (Camille) falls for handsome bon vivant (Maxime). Girl then meets shy underdog (Stéphane). Girl learns to love the underdog. So far, perfectly understandable to American audiences. Then, against formula, Stéphane does not return Camille's affections. He leads her on, then eventually rejects her, breaking her heart.Maxime, knowing that Camille is devastated and would have preferred to leave him for Stéphane (if Stéphane was interested), has a decision to make. Does he reject Camille who has betrayed him? No, instead Maxime is outraged not with Camille but with Stéphane. He curses Stéphane and slaps him in the face, not for stealing his lover but for rejecting her.In the end, Camille returns to Maxime. Maxime accepts this because he loves Camille and is willing to be her second choice. Camille accepts this because her only choices are unrequited love for Stéphane, or being alone. Instead she choses the comfort/respect of a perhaps loveless relationship with Maxime.And what of Stéphane? What has he chosen and why?Except for a short interlude earlier in the move where we see Stéphane visit an old friend/mentor and play briefly with a child, the reader of this review now knows as much as anyone who has seen the movie. This leaves viewers largely intrigued but perplexed, so I'll lay it out for you.Maxime comes across as a good guy even though he left his wife for Camille. Camille is beautiful, young, talented, intelligent, kind, etc. You can't fault Maxime for falling in love with Camille, although perhaps in a French society used to mistresses, he is seen as a cad for leaving his wife. Is his heart "in winter" because he coldly left his wife, or because he knows Camille will never truly love him? No, his heart is warm and generous. He does not abandon Camille even though she has betrayed him. He loves her. If his heart was cold/calculating at the beginning of the movie, he certainly has learned his lesson. His heart is broken, but no longer cold.Camille in the end is "damaged goods." She seems genuinely unaware of the possibility that a man, any man, would reject her. She retreats to Maxime's comforting hug as a child would retreat to her father. Her heart, so vital at the outset of the movie is now broken and cold, perhaps forever. Perhaps she will find eventual love with Maxime, but they have a long, difficult road ahead, and it is unclear if she will ever heal or ever love Maxime. He seems content to wait an eternity, frozen in time if not in temperature.And now we come back to Stéphane. He was aloof and enigmatic at the beginning of the movie. He was calculating and manipulative in the middle. And at the end, he is portrayed as being unbelievably cruel or cold. People assume that any man who could ignore Camille (Emmanuelle Béart) is incapable of love. She is truly a breath-taking beauty. So why is Stéphane's heart "in winter"? It is not in winter because he is unable to love Camille, and viewers who missed this need to go back and watch the entire movie.SPOILER ALERT:Stéphane is in love with Maxime (yes, gay).At the beginning of the movie, he is pining for Maxime who is married and sees Stéphane as solely a platonic friend. Stéphane accepts that Maxime is married and won't leave his wife. When Maxime leaves his wife for Camille, Stéphane is heartbroken, knowing he will likely never be able to love Maxime openly. It isn't even entirely clear if Maxime is aware of Stéphane's love for him. He is aware of it intellectually, but clearly doesn't understand/appreciate a homosexual man's love for another man. (In this way, it is mirrored by Camille not understanding how Stéphane, or any man, could fail to love her.)Stéphane clearly decides that he cannot bear to see Maxime with Camille. He sets out to tear them apart. Stéphane treats Camille as if she is totally disposable, because he only wants to hurt Maxime. This is indeed very cold to Camille, and she is completeely unaware of Stéphane's game. Even Maxime seems to think that Stéphane is in love with Camille. Only in the end when Stéphane rejects Camille does Maxime understand both the cruel manipulation by Stéphane, and the pain that Stéphane must be in. Maxime lashes out at Stéphane for breaking Camille's heart, but in so doing has to recognize that he too broke Stéphane's heart.And there you have it, the inexplicable explained.For evidence that my hypothesis is correct, and that Maxime is neither unaware nor innocent, listen carefully at the beginning of the movie (narrated by Maxime). He says, in essence, that he leads Stéphane on enough to keep this master craftsman working in his violin shop rather than opening his own business. Maxime knows that Stéphane loves him, but being heterosexual, he shows no real understanding of what that means.And with this in mind, it begins to all make sense. Now we understand why Stéphane seduces Camille but rejects her. As any heterosexual male will attest, if you are not gay, you would fall for Camille (Emmanuelle Béart) in an instant. Instead, Stéphane is really after Maxime, and sees Camille as either a rival or an inanimate object (like a beautiful china doll). Stéphane fails to appreciate that Camille is a living person whose heart he will break. His heart is too cold to think of anything but exacting revenge on Maxime.As further proof, there is a subtle parallel thread in which Camille's music coach (a female) is in love with Camille, but Camille just glosses over the issue neither confronting nor rejecting a person she views only professionally/platonically.For the record, I'm straight, so I'm not just reading these themes into the movie for my own sake. I asked a friend who's gay whether he agreed with my take on the movie, and he thought I was crazy.Now go re-watch the movie, and judge for yourself.I'm pretty sure I'm 100% right. No other interpretation is even remotely sensible.

Tags: romantic

Review:
Brother, can you spare a heart?In Un Coeur en Hiver, the late Claude Sautet looks into the heart of Stephane, a master violin craftsman (Daniel Auteuil), and finds only ice.
While the lovely sonatas and trios of Maurice Ravel form a haunting background, there is a lifeless quality to Stephane and ennui is a palpable presence throughout.Stephane seems ready to leap into a passionate relationship with a beautiful young violinist, Camille (Emmanuelle Beart) after Maxim, his partner for many years (also in love with Camille), introduces her to Stephane.
For the most part, emotions are conveyed through glances, expressions, and silences rather than dialogue.The scene where Camille finally explodes out of frustration over Stephane's emotional distance, however, is powerful, yet is not enough to shake the reluctant lover from his hiding place.
I could really feel Camille's frustration in trying to pluck fruit from a barren tree.Auteuil's outstanding performance makes him a likable figure, a really sweet guy but a very sad one.
I felt repeatedly like shaking him from his lethargy and exposing him to joy and the rhythmic beauty of life, perhaps adding a little Mozart to his Ravel.At the end, however, there is some character development.
She and Auteuil (Stephane) employ that subtle 'facial' acting, so popular in French cinema.
Sometimes you have to wonder if the story is really a kind of allegory, with the characters as symbols, their full significance yet to be revealed.Look out for what appears to be an important scene featuring Stephane's parents, towards the end of the film.
And how much more interesting it makes this intriguing story!Oh - and the music is a substantial part of the film - not just 'background', which is a good thing..
The main character of this film, Stephan--played by Daniel Auteuil--is brilliant.
He is a good looking and quiet man who knows what he wants and is secure in this:  solitude--regardless of the amorous advances of Camille, the beautiful and brilliant young violinist who winds up dating his business partner Maxime, and whom he could seduce very easily.
This movie manages to remind us this in the context of a difficult love story accompanied by one of the most beautiful scores ever.The whole movie seems to have been written and built around this sad, unusual and beautiful music by Ravel (piano sonata for trio).If you are an intelligent person you'll love the poetry and soft touch of this movie..
For me however, the scene in which the character played by Ms. Beart is rehearsing Ravel with her quartet and the character of Mr. Auteuil stares her down as only a man from France can do; with a heady combination of lust, reluctance, and sobriety- that scene takes 'psychodrama' to a new level.
This is a haunting film...in its visual beauty, in its performances and certainly in the sensitive direction of Claude Sautet.
One of the many qualities to admire in this film is that what the characters do not say is more important that what they do, and rather than being vague and ambiguous, which is a polite way of often saying muddled and obscure in movies, everything is confidently conveyed through expressions and actions.
The music is brilliantly chosen, and the camera draws things out of the frame naturally...Auteil touching Beart for the first time when crossing the road, the wonderful coffee shop scene, that slap from Maxim.
a beautiful, beautiful movie without sentimentality, but with great music and wonderful depths of feeling by the actors.
a beautiful, beautiful movie without sentimentality, but with great music and wonderful depths of feeling by the actors.
not too much i can say, either you'll love it or you'll be frustrated.there is no use telling the story.if you love it you will know why, probably because it strikes a chord in you and you can relate to one of the characters or situations.if you hate it, well, i can think about worse ways to spend 90 minutes.
I loved it and I watch it over and over.Auteuil and Beart really shine, and the film is neatly done.
An art film in the best sense of the word.What most influenced me was Auteuil's character.
I saw this movie over ten years ago but I still remember it as a beautiful, sensitive, moving film.
I highly recommend it for those who would like to see Emmannuelle Beart at her peak of beauty and to listen to the tender, yearning music of Ravel..
It's a love triangle of sorts between two friends, a bachelor Maxime and his quiet friend Stephane who are business partners running a violin repair shop.
Maxime begins a relationship with the beautiful violinist Camille, who soon becomes attracted to Stefane, who does not overtly return her advances.
He loves music and handles his violins (which can be argued are shaped like an ideal female body, revealing Stephane's asexuality) the way Maxime and other "normal" men handle women.
Director Claude Sautet has a gift with letting human drama unfold, and he carefully studies the behavior of his characters, who come alive without force or question, so much that the audience feels like a you're listening on close friends fighting.
Then a real-life couple, Emmanuel Beart and Daniel Auteuil are stunning (such a great, unique romance for a real-life couple--you couldn't ever imagine Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie ever tackling this together), hitting all the right notes (pun intended) with the precision and understanding of great actors, and even better human beings.
Brilliant dialogs, wonderful acting, moving music, a perfect mix of sobriety, passion, psychological violence and reserve.At the heart of the movie, the character of Stephane is an enigma for the other characters and for the viewer.
It is worth noting that, although he wrote completely original stories, Sautet used to use real life, identifiable individuals as models for his characters.I've seen Un coeur en hiver many times, but still each time I discover something new.
As wonderful as it is to watch the trio of Auteuil, Dussollier and Beart, you can sometimes enjoy this movie with your eyes closed.
Even if you don't care to watch the movie again, which should not be the case if you appreciate the intelligence and artistry of French cinema, check out the soundtrack.
And Daniel Auteuil, what can I say, his acting is so understated and expressive that you take his character to heart in spite of his seemingly heartless actions towards Camille..
Thus love in this film is like holding a violin bow without knowing that is made of stainless steel.
After having now watched 'Nelly & Monsieur Arnaud' and this film, i will certainly go back and make a reassessment.'Un coeur en hiver' is, however, nothing short of a masterpiece -- a showcase for acting talent and directorial mastery.
Whether you love or loath classical music is largely irrelevant here -- it's the passion and commitment in the delivery that counts and Béart is magnetic.Claude Sautet won the trophy for best director in France's 1993 César awards for this.
In fact the lovers, she, a young, gifted violinist played by the strange but beautiful Emmanuelle Beart, and he, a cynical genius of violin repair (!) played by the enigmatic Daniel Auteuil, never even kiss!
Strong performances by the leads and seamless, invisible direction make this a four star film and a modern classic.(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon!).
The movie strikes by its beautiful music and by superb acting of Beart and Auteuil.
This is something remarkable on this movie, that we never know if Stephane is really good in hiding his feelings, or simply doesn't have them to the extent that he is supposed to.
Another thing I love about this movie is the "undefined" relationship between the 3 main characters.
He could have easily force it one way or another, make Camille chose (how many time we saw this in movies...) or confronting Stephane, but these are all clichés that you won't find it here.
This film brings us into the life of Stephane --- a man who has never discovered love only due to the fact that he never realised he had a heart.The ending has several interpretations, however it may not satisfy those who enjoy the happy-ending type story.I've read some reviews saying the movie was incredibly boring.
After watching my favourite film of last year "Jean De Florette and Manon Des Sources" I thought I should check out this love story that has two of the main protagonists of that film.Emmanuelle Beart and Daniel Autueil star in this film about a love triangle of intricate characters.
Fairly straightforward stuff, but the beauty of the cinematography, set against a violin score of the highest quality really makes this a tremendous film, lest I forget the great performances of Auteuil and Beart the latter of whom really convinces as an up and coming professional violinist.The tension between the three main characters is really well created, bringing us to a feverish state with the last act beckoning.
The complex character of Stephane is really intriguing to see develop, although when the final act does arrive it would've been far more satisfying to see him show at least some visual emotion, since we have had to interpret Auteuil's subtle glances and facial expressions all the way through the film.It actually brings a fairly frustrating climax to the film, although one can't complain.
It's a refreshing film to watch and is satisfying in the sense that you know that this 40 something year old man isn't going to change in an instant, no matter how beautiful the love interest (and yes, she is indeed beautiful).
The ending makes sense, even if we want it to be different.All in all, a love story I can highly recommend.
In this film, Daniel is after Emmanuelle Beart's character.
This film is a great example of how good acting, solid directing, and decent writing can allow the audience to understand the characters with greater depth including their flaws and attributes.
The only things worth watching and hearing in this French film are Emmanuelle Beart's face and some of Ravel's violin music, respectively.Otherwise, this is an incredibly boring movie; a very long, drawn out soap opera.
(The novel is even mentioned in the film.) Stephan is a modern-day version of Pechorin." Now Pechorin is a complex Byronesque character that has ambiguous but plausible reasons for his apparent "winter" heart.
"Winter Heart" is a character study which examines what happens when a beautiful violinist falls in love with a violin maker who is devoid of the passion and emotion which is so much a part of French film and life in general.
This one will remind you of of your heart, love you felt for once and the all the feelings that come with you when you listen music that promises to bring all that back.
And that's where this french film shines not just because it is written craft-fully that we are invested emotionally but also performed delicately and delicately by the actors esp., Emmanuelle Béart, Daniel Auteuil, André Dussollier, Elizabeth Bourgine that makes us know with what vibes it went in and came out.
Story, i think i should not tell since synopsis, is given but what i want to say at last, is that once you are entering the film and its story, don't leave it thinking, it to be melodramatic instead see the magic music, emotions and reactions play when they all come together with that sense of making your memories of how you'll feel great about this film..
But his heart seems to be as cold as her playing is passionate.The film contains only excerpts of Ravel compositions, but the soundtrack album includes them in their entirety, performed by Jean-Jacques Kantorow (violin), Philippe Muller (cello) and Jacques Rouvier (piano).
The end.The French are usually quite good at making films about nothing.
Before I say anything else, I must point out that I love Daniel Auteuil and have seen many of his films.
I am a fan of both Daniel Auteuil and Emmanuelle Beart (who, I believe, are married in real life), and their performances in this film are strong and are not what disappointed me.
I believe that this film was intended to be a psychological drama about the love between Auteuil's and Beart's characters.
We (and they) end up in exactly the same place, leaving the viewer asking in the final scene, "That was it??"  The ramifications of their relationship, if you can call it that, do not even compel these characters to make changes in their own lives.Maybe being an American has made me accustomed to films where there is a happy ending and the romance wins out in the end.
But this movie, if a depiction of what happens in real life and not just American films where the guy gets the girl in the end, is deeply disturbing and a sad commentary on the nature of the human condition.
Plenty of romances I watch I doubt the chemistry between a couple, but here I felt comfortable and aware of these character's emotions and problems.The film is about a violinist who falls entrancedly in love with her boyfriend's seemingly empty partner in terms of emotion and love.
Normally IMDb ratings are an excellent guide, and I rented this movie on the basis of its high rating, but in this case it was totally misleading.This has to be the most boring, lifeless, dreary film I've ever seen.
The premise is good enough: two men run a violin repair shop, one is having an affair with a lovely young violinist, but then she develops a relationship with the other one.Problem is, not one of these characters (nor any of the subordinate ones) have anything interesting or attractive or charming or in any way endearing about them.
There are so many ways to interpret the ending, again demonstrating Sautet's brilliant directing and the nuances in Beart's and Auteuil's performances.
You would absolutely never find a "love" story quite like this one in the U.S. This was made by a true craftsman.At times it felt like there were 2 movies going on at once.
Not many movies can draw a parallel between music and love with such delicate refinement as Sautet's Un Coeur en Hiver.
The film revolves around an unspoken unrequited love between Stephane (Auteuil), a violin craftsman, and the beautiful Camille (Béart), a violin virtuoso and also his patron's lover.
A character that holds a violin as if it were the most fragile item in the world, and yet does not hesitate to shatter a woman's heart by simply saying, "I have decided to seduce you without loving you." But in the end, as he himself realizes, he is only destroying himself.
This movie makes me fall in love with French cinema all over again..
Beart's character's inability to accept this, her outrageous scene at the restaurant, her coldness toward him when he seeks to mend fences after her outrage - all make me dislike her.**** SPOILERS *****I find deeply disturbing the movie's showing of Auteil's willingness to engage in a mercy killing as the sign of his love for someone.
The characters, the music and the atmosphere that Sautet has created are beautiful and also fragile-just like in real life.
That's one good thing I can say about him.After watching the movie, I was left wondering what Camille's true motives were.
I have to question a man's motives when he acts as Maxime did, especially when the woman he supposedly loves is as beautiful as Camille, and seemingly as illusive.By the end, the three main characters have proved themselves to be quite unappealing, only Brice and the shopkeeper friend of Stephane having provided any real warmth to the story.
The title, which translates literally as A Heart In Winter or more colloquially as A Frozen Heart, suggests that Stephane (Auteuil) is the central character but Manu Beart as Camille has stolen most of the notices I've read on this Board but I would argue that perhaps fittingly for a film set against the world of classical music this is an exquisite chamber work that segues effortlessly between trio, quartet and quintet.
It's true that without the icy remoteness of Stephane his relationships with business partner Maxim (Dussollier), Maxim's lover and virtuoso violinist Camille (Beart), beautifully observed platonic friendship with bookshop owner Helene (Bourgine) and lastly Camiile's agent Regine (Catillon) would take an entirely different hue and open the way to several other kinds of plot development but each of the five I have mentioned are both well written and well rounded in performance.
One of the best French films of all time.
It's two people at the top of their game, a virtuoso violinist and her equivalent in the luthier business.This film is like instrumental music.
There are so many interpretations and they're all equally right.A top violinist, Camille, falls in love with her luthier, Stephane, despite her having a boyfriend in his businessman of a partner, Maxime?
If we were to place things on a spectrum with real life (let's say 0) on one end and pure fantasy like Avatar on the other (let's give it a 5), most modern films would be closer to fantasy than reality.
Or if you want to see an AWESOME movie with both Daniel Auteuil and Emanuelle Beart, rent <Manon des Sources>.
I am also not sure if by seducing Camille, Stephane was trying to push himself to see if he could really move on and fall in love with a woman.
The problem I had with this film is with the central character Stephane whose reserved and detached nature gets old and annoying after a while.