La classe de neige (1998)

A schoolboy Nicholas always worries about something. When he goes on a school skiing trip, all his visions and nightmares take him over.

Director:

Claude Miller

Writers:

Claude Miller (scenario and dialogue), Emmanuel Carrère (scenario and dialogue)

Stars:

Clément van den Bergh, Emmanuelle Bercot, Yves Verhoeven

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Clément van den Bergh	...	Nicolas
Lokman Nalcakan	...	Hodkann
François Roy	...	The Father
Yves Verhoeven	...	Patrick
Emmanuelle Bercot	...	Miss Grimm
Tina Sportolaro	...	The Mother
Yves Jacques	...	The Visitor
Chantal Banlier	...	Marie Ange
Benoît Herlin	...	Ribotton
Julien Le Mouel	...	Lucas
Tom Jacon	...	Nicolas' little brother
Loïc Pichon	...	Policeman #1
Thierry Redler	...	Policeman #2
Jean-Claude Frissung	...	Doctor
Alain Payen	...	Policeman at accident

Storyline

A schoolboy Nicholas always worries about something. When he goes on a school skiing trip, all his visions and nightmares take him over.

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Plot Keywords:

dreaming of one's death | childhood friend | card game | dead boy | freezing to death | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

23 September 1998 (France)

Also Known As:

Class Trip

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films de la Boissière, PECF, France 3 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Nicolas and his family are watching the television report of the bus crash, the announcer states that fifteen children are already dead. The camera shows well over fifteen body bags.

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Connections

Referenced in De lutrede (2003)

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Soundtracks

So Tell the Girls That I'm Back in Town
By Jay Jay Johansson

User Reviews

It's a dark comedy, not a psychology riddle or a thriller

I agree with most other reviewers in liking this movie, but I disagree with almost everything they say about it. First of all, it is not hard to follow, nor is it at all hard to tell what is real and what is not. The plot is actually fairly simple, and warning that it is so complex that you have to watch it twice and answer half a dozen or more convoluted questions before you get it is absurd.

It's also absurd to imply that you have to understand Freudian psychobabble to understand this movie. I don't know why people think they have to make a movie sound so hard to watch when it is not hard to watch at all.

I also disagree that this is a sad, solemn movie, and that there's no humor in it. The humor is dark humor (very dark), but there's a good bit of it, as when Nicolas imagines making out with the teacher and when the hooded terrorists swarm over the school mowing everybody down with machine guns while Nicolas calmly eats food the other kids have left behind in panic. Even the scars the camera zooms in on so often and Nic's father's antics and horror stories about organ pirates are funny. It's macabre, but it's very funny.

And the twist at the end? What twist? The end was obvious almost from the beginning of the movie. This is a movie, not a psychology test or an inscrutable riddle or even much of a thriller. It's a very smart, very dark comedy about children and crazy parents. In trying to over-analyze it, people miss its fun. Lighten up and enjoy it.