Un Coeur en Hiver ( A Heart in Winter )

Buy This Item Un Coeur en Hiver ( A Heart in Winter ) by Koch Lorber Films  Available from Amazon  $25.99  on 11-27-2008     Daniel Auteuil (<i>Manon of the Spring</i>) stars as Stephane, the curiously diffident co-owner of an exclusive violin brokerage and repair shop. A brilliant technician, Stephane can make any instrument live up to its promise, yet he himself is emotionally remote and disconnected from passionate experience. His partner, Maxime (André Dussollier), lacks Stephane's gifts but is rich in personality and desire. When Maxime's new lover, a violinist named Camille (Emmanuelle Béart), is drawn to Stephane's still waters, he is briefly moved, thus destroying the fragile, symbiotic relationship between all three individuals.<P>"Two Thumbs Up!" – Siskel & Ebert <P>"[it] has the intensity and delicacy of a great short story." – Roger Ebert, <i>Chicago Sun-Times</i><P>"superb…hauntingfull of unexpected beauty, richness and feeling" – Hal Hinson, <i>Washington Post</i><P>WINNER – César Award, Best Director WINNER – César Award, Best Supporting Actor WINNER – Venice Film Festival, FIPRESCI Prize WINNER – Venice Film Festival, Silver Lion WINNER – London Critics Circle Film Awards, Foreign Language Film of the Year WINNER – European Film Awards, Best Actor WINNER – David di Donatello Award, Best Foreign Actor, Best Foreign Actress WINNER – David di Donatello Award, Best Foreign Film WINNER – French Syndicate of Cinema Critics, Best Film Reader Reviews Un Coeur en Hiver is a film about the deepest human feelings and fears, especially fear of intimacy and fear of rejection. The film is the story of three people. Maxime and Stephane are long time professional associates who operate a small company which constructs and restores violins. Maxime runs the business end of the operation, and Stephane is an expert craftsman who handles the repairs. One day, Maxime informs Stephane that he has met somebody. A woman named Camille, a beautiful and talented violinist. Maxime explains that he and Camille have fallen in love and are planning to live together, but as Stephane and Camille begin spending time together in their professional capacities, it becomes clear that they are attracted to each other. Yet, for some reason Stephane refuses to act on his feelings further confusing Camille. To her, he is an enigma. Eventually, she asks him, "Why are you hiding from me?" Stephane, meanwhile, can only further distance himself from her. Eventually,Camille reveals to Stephane that she wants him, and can accept the fact that he lives in an enclosed world. Stephane replies that she misunderstands him. He cruelly tells her that he has wanted to seduce her, without loving her, and that he listens to her play her violin only because it is his job. Stephane, of course, is covering his true feelings. At first, this seems self destructive, as he is throwing away any chance for the involvement he desires with Camille. His remarks deeply hurt Camille, and, ultimately, she ends up settling for Maxime. At the end of the film, Stephane, Camille and Maxime meet in a cafe. As Camille and Maxime start to walk away there is a look of sadness on Camille's face. As Stephane is left alone, he too shares that look, but he remains unable to express his emotions and share his life with someone else. In his mind, his rejection of Camille is an act of self preservation. In the beginning of Un Coeur en Hiver, it is observed that violins are the most precious possessions of violinists. This declaration has profound meaning as the scenario evolves. If the instruments are such, they are so because they are safe. They have no free will. They will never abandon their owners. If they fall apart from usage, they always can be repaired. They are dependable and reliable, unlike human beings. Even when two people connect, relations between them are inevitably less than harmonious. Emotions are complex and ever changing in human relationships, feelings are dependent upon the responses of others. Stephane is keenly aware of all this, and it is for this reason that despite his feelings, he distances himself from Camille. He is afraid of allowing himself to love her because of the pain he may be forced to endure. As a result, he presents himself as passionless, which even plays itself out during an intellectual discussion in which he professes to have no opinion on the subject at all. In the end, Stephane is a lonely figure, one who is unconnected with life. His solitude shelters him, keeping him protected from the hurt feelings that are the offshoots of human connection. Every time I watch this movie I wonder is he better or worse off. While we all are solitary souls, if we do not choose to be brave and risk connecting emotionally with others, our lives can never be complete. This is one of my favorite movies and the beautiful music of Ravel played through the film compliments the somber aura of the story.

Un Coeur en Hiver ( A Heart in Winter ) Available from Amazon Price: $25.99 Updated on 11-27-2008.

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