Un coeur en hiver (1992)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Claude Sautet

Writers:

Claude Sautet (scenario and dialogue) &
Jacques Fieschi (scenario and dialogue) ...

Release Date:

4 June 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Music

Plot:

Beautiful violin virtuoso Camille has two obsessions: the music of Ravel, and a friend of her husband's who crafts violins...

Plot Keywords:

Violin | Unrequited Love | Cafe | Classical Music | Violinist

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 11 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Daniel Auteuil	...	Stéphane
Emmanuelle Béart	...	Camille
André Dussollier	...	Maxime
Élisabeth Bourgine	...	Hélène (as Elizabeth Bourgine)
Brigitte Catillon	...	Régine
Myriam Boyer	...	Mme. Amet
Jean-Claude Bouillaud
Stanislas Carré de Malberg	...	Brice
Dominique De Williencourt	...	Christophe
Jeffrey Grice
Luben Yordanoff
Nanou Garcia
François Domange
Van Doude
Jacques Villa

Also Known As:

A Heart in Winter
A Heart of Stone

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:L | South Korea:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:S | Germany:12 | Sweden:Btl | UK:12

Company:

Film Par Film

Trivia:

When Stephane, Helene and François are in the movie line, there are posters for Malina (1991) and To Be or Not to Be (1942) in the background.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Claude Sautet ou La magie invisible (2003)

The Violinist-Psychologist not quite in Love

The plot revolves around the 'love triangle' of Camille, Stephan, and Maxine. Camille is a young up and coming concert violinist, and Stephan and Maxine are violin craftsmen. Camille is one of their many clients. 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. Many people analyzing Stephan's character would immediately say that he is sociopathic, deranged, insecure, or whatever. But Stephan is actually fully in control of his life throughout the whole film. He is not aware of fleeting passions like infatuation because he does not exist outside of passion: He is passion incarnate as he is very in tune with what he wants and is skillful at asserting his desires; so much so that those who encounter him become very jarred. His personna functions as a mirror that reflects other people's neuroses and fears back at them instead of absorbing them into itself and thus becoming poisoned. In this way, he's almost like a freelance mobile psychoanalyst passing through different bistros and concert halls in Paris, and disrupting the otherwise 'normal' relationships of those he encounters. The psychological tension throughout the film is thick from the start, and reaches a point of absolute saturation at its apogee. The viewer cannot help but find himself emotionally invested in the plot. The background score of the film is beautiful.