Après la neige is a simple, emotional story
Not a lot happens in minimalist movie but it leaves an impression
Après la neige ★★★ ½ Starring: Paul Barbeau, Émile Schneider-Vanier, Isabelle O’Brien, Jean Larouche. Playing at: Excentris cinema Parents’ guide: For all
There is a strange power to Après la neige. Producer Paul Barbeau’s feature directorial debut is a remarkably no-frills affair, and that minimalist approach may not be everyone’s cup of cinematic tea.
Not a heck of a lot happens here. There are lots of silences, not all that many characters, and to call it downbeat would be a pretty fair description. So why did it have such an effect on me?
Maybe it’s the simplicity of the story. It’s about the emotional crisis of a 40-year-old man. No more, no less. It’s about how he has to re-evaluate his life after his company goes belly up and he realizes the two most important relationships he has to work on are those with his elderly dad and his teenage son.
But maybe the real reason I dug Après la neige so much is because one of the messages here is that you can find salvation through vinyl records. I already knew that, but it’s nice to have it confirmed on the big-screen. There’s a lovely scene right at the end that speaks to the power of the old-school record player!
There is a neat off-screen back- story here which is very relevant to the film. Barbeau, who has recently produced critically acclaimed films like Jo Pour Jonathan and Roméo Onze, used to run one of the city’s top rock-video production companies, NúFilms, and the company went out of business in 2009 shortly after one of its videos was nominated as video of the year at the Grammy Awards.
NúFilms was just another victim of the decimation of the music industry by illegal downloading, and that turn of events had Barbeau wondering why he felt so empty. That’s exactly the position Simon finds himself in at the start of Après la neige. The entrepreneur — played by Barbeau himself, further underlining the pulled-fromreal-life feel of the piece — has closed down his video-production company, making it clear right at the start that his business died as a direct result of the digital-downloading revolution.
He’s desperately trying to connect with his teenage son Marc-Antoine (Émile Schneider-Vanier), who’s an aspiring rapper. Marc-Antoine just happens to want nothing to do with dad. Simon is also trying to connect with his old man, played by Jean Larouche, who’s living in an old folks’ residence and seems hardly aware of what’s going on around him.
That’s about it for plot in this languidly paced, 74-minute drama. If you’re looking for action or wordy dialogue, you’d be advised to go elsewhere. There are beautiful shots of Montreal in the fall and then in all its slushy winter beauty, weather that perfectly mirrors Simon’s mood.
Barbeau, who’s never had a major acting role before, is actually very good and it’s not hard to imagine that’s because he can so relate to what this character is going through. It would’ve been nice if some of the other folks here — like his estranged wife (Isabelle O’Brien) and his angst-ridden son — could’ve been a little more developed.
But that’s not a terminal problem given the raw power of the material.