Closed for Winter (2009) User Reviews

Not much to it

[mauvemoonlight · 4/10 · 30 July 2011]

The film's plot, such as it is, revolves around a teenage or pre-teen girl named Frances, who disappeared some twenty years ago and the profound effect it had and continues to have on her mother and younger sister, Elise. Elise is now an adult but we have flashbacks throughout the film.

Eventually some extremely vague hints are made regarding some things that might have happened to Frances prior to her disappearance - but nothing is ever clearly stated.

So what happened to Frances? Well, nobody ever really says - suicide, murdered, snatched by someone, or ran off? Just go with whichever one of those strikes you.

The film is more watchable than some films out there - but I would not particularly recommende it. What it mostly has going for it is that it contains no graphic sexual or violent scenes.

4 Stars

Not bad for an Aussie movie

[yolzy-90976 · 6/10 · 17 December 2016]

I don't want to give too much away, sister goes to beach every day, but doesn't allow her little sister to sit with her at the beach, which I found weird...was she laying on the sand doing naughty things with other boys? Why not let the little sister sit with her..instead left all alone... ...anyway sister goes missing, mum goes nuts...that's all I am saying. My question is where is her sister? What happened to her? The movie doesn't tell u..which cheesed me off a bit. Mum knows a secret..and Imbruglia is trying t o find out what the hell happened to her sister...you may enjoy it if you don't ind not knowing what happened at the end...

Closed for Winter: unlocking summer's secrets

[kevin-rennie · 7/10 · 23 April 2009]

Australian writer/director James Bogle has given us the very introspective Closed for Winter, an adaptation of Georgia Blain's 1998 novel of the same name. This dark film brought to mind the recent French language I've loved you for so long, "This is a sombre, desolate tale. It is as much about her complex relationships as it is the past." Both stories explore coming to terms with loss, about achieving the dreaded ubiquitous cliché and about creating a new beginning.

Twenty years after the disappearance of her older sister Frances (Danielle Catanzariti) Elise Silverton (Natalie Imbruglia) is obsessed by her memories. Frances' fate is still unresolved. Her mother Dorothy (Deborah Kennedy) spends her waking hours compulsively reading and responding to similar tragic news items. Her dilapidated house is piled with newspapers. The shadowy absence of her husband, who died in a work accident before the disappearance, hangs over everything.

Two other men help to break this cycle of mourning. A relationship with her boss Martin (Daniel Frederiksen) offers a way out for Elise. Daniel's performance as the geekish nerd who manages the local cinema was the hardest to warm to. It seems too much of a caricature.

John Mills has been the family's long-term doctor. His developing friendship with Elise brings the film's climax that helps her to confront the past. Tony Martin gives a restrained, perhaps underwhelming, portrayal.

Those who haven't followed Neighbours or aren't great fans of popular music, Natalie Imbruglia may not be as familiar as Kylie Minogue. Most of her acting has been for television. She does brooding silence very well but doesn't handle vigorous dialogue as skillfully. The young Elise (Tiahn Green) does silences even better. Like many recent roles by child actors, her performance steals a lot of Natalie's impact. Natalie also seems a few years too old for her part.

Deborah Kennedy maintains a crazed sparkle in the eyes, warning that Dorothy's neuroses should not be taken lightly.

Bogle's controlled direction manages the frequent flashbacks fluently and effectively. The beach scenes with the aging pier mold the mood of the tragic summer perfectly. However, at times these shots linger too long, in what is an otherwise concise production. There are some twee aspects such as the garden and the mosaic but they are minor irritations.

The film is not really a mystery or suspense, though much of the critical action happens off camera. Towards the end Elise says that she now knows as much as she need to. The same is true for the audience. The resolution is predictable but that doesn't spoil this troubled journey. An emotional life that has been flat-lining for so long has only two possible directions.

Kevin Rennie Cinema Takes: http://cinematakes.blogspot.com/

Dark and Beautiful

[toniantigo · 7/10 · 4 October 2015]

This beautiful tale of a woman Elise coming to terms of accepting the disappearance of her sister Frances is one of those movies that you will never understand if you don't listen to the dialogues attentively, which makes the movie even more interesting because there is no clear cue as to what really happened to the character whom the central emotions of desperation, longing, melancholy and even confusion revolve around.

The way the movie presents its conflict is flashback. Flashback is a great tool to present two realities that are quite complex. In this movie it is used effectively through the aid of great cinematography. There are moments when flashbacks are too lengthy to be useful to the message the film tries to convey but overall, it was used in a palatable manner.

One problem I find the movie is characterisation. There are characters that are confusing as to how they are related to the one another because the characters themselves are off-tangent and exaggerated but acted in a restrained and underwhelming manner. Especially The doctor, Elise's love interest.

Overall, the film is beautiful. Quite dark but beautiful. If you pick up the cues, you'd probably know more than Elise as she seems too oblivious of the fact that her sister was giving her signs that something wasn't going well with her life that possibly led to her disappearance. In the movie the resolution is as unclear as the the conflict but true to what the film is suggesting that in grieving and moving on, you do not need to know all the intricate details, you just need to do it to better yourself.

Beautiful sad story by Georgia Blaine...

[MarieGabrielle · 10/10 · 9 August 2011]

Simply beautifully filmed, with Natalie Imbruglia as Elise, who has lost her sister under mysterious circumstances in 1987. They live on Semaphore Beach in Australia, she now lives with her mother who wallows in deep depression from loss of her husband, and then her eldest daughter Frances.

Elise wonders what happened to her sister as they went to the beach daily the summer Frances disappears. She works at an aimless job at a movie theater, models for her friend who asks why she wastes time dating Marvin. "he loves me, he really does" she wants things simple. She imagines at times seeing her sister at a nightclub, or walking the beach.

The set decoration is realistic, Elise's mother a waitress lets the house go when husband dies, the pink and green tile and cheap paint in kitchen reflect a kind of disorder. Elise's mother spends the next 20 years cutting out news articles about other missing children.

The beach itself portrays a sense of loss, then renewal after turmoil...seems trite but it isn't in this film: there is no real answer to anything, it is like having a loss in real life.

I lost my mother to an accident in the 1990's and I suppose this film has special cadence for me. The loss, why did it happen...we see all of this as Elise wanders the beach, lives a half existence with her depressed and depressive mother.

This is a niche film, it should be seen a few times to pick up the hints and nuances. Ultimately Elise finds internal spirit, it is subtle but we see as she plants the seaweed garden and moves on with life: it is never easy but somehow people go on, and Elise moves forward deciding not to live within the pain any longer. Highly recommended, especially for anyone who has felt deep loss. 10/10.

Totally fit for Nathalie while I'm still unfit (web)

[leplatypus · 10/10 · 11 August 2015]

I write this review the last day of my 40th year, being again unwell and hoping that this Annus Horibilis will be definitely over. For the first time in my life, my body had been in constant pain all along the year, attacked by accidents or by illness: what's funny is that browsing my previous reviews, I can link them with the actual problem: with « American graffiti » in January, it was tinnitus ; In March with « Kramer vs Kramer », it was bronchitis ! Two weeks of silence in April when i had surgery ; in May, with « house of sand and fog », it was teeth pain ; now, in august, it's Adam's apple shock !

Like the previously mentioned movie with Jennifer, this one resonates with my difficult being as it's about the disappearance of a child, which is for me the worst pain for parents and sibling ! The ambiance is very heavy, sad, depressive and for that Natalie was the perfect choice. Being a sister too, she could easily find a connection but above all, Nat has this dark side, this spleen in her. For me, it's because she seems inside torn that she got a worldwide success with the same song because she was living it ! In a way, her millstone that i presume explains surely why Nat runs away from glamour, exhibitionist that other female singers abuses : here, in the movie, she dresses seriously and don't want to play with her skin ! So that's why I like Nat very much : she is authentic, has values and fragility and here she thus seems very natural and it's a pity Nat didn't get more opportunities after !

In addition, the movie is interesting in a way as the fate of the sister is left to the audience as the clues are rather vague. At last, the young sister is also a lucky pick as she has definitely a bit of « Nat » in here too !