A Few Hours of Spring

Following the success of Mademoiselle Chambon, actor Vincent Lindon and filmmaker Stéphane Brizé reunite for another examination of no-frills working class people. This time, Lindon puts in a powerful performance as Alain, a former truck driver coming off 18 months of jail for small time drug smuggling. Broke and broken, his best option is to regroup back at home with his surly, aging mother Yvette (Vincent). Once installed, the two can’t help but revert to their old roles, he the resentful, emotionally unavailable slob, and she the controlling, meticulous mother. Alain struggles to redeem himself with a budding romance with Clémence (Seigner), but back at the house, only Yvette’s dog is able to mediate the icy antagonism. An unexpected turn forces mother and son forever out of their old ways. Muted colors and a spare score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis reinforce this stark, profound drama.

Citing the Dardenne brothers, Ken Loach and Lars Von Trier as his influences, writer/director Stéphane Brizé makes films exploring emotionally charged situations experienced by emotionally inarticulate characters. Born in 1966, Brizé’s initial experience in film was as an audiovisual technician. After taking top honors for a short in the Festival De Cognac, he shifted to filmmaking. His first feature, Les Bleu des villes (1999) screened at Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight and proved to be a box office success. In 2006, Stéphane Brizé was introduced to an American audience at COL•COA with the U.S. premiere of his second feature, Not Here to be Loved. The same year, Claude Lelouch produced Brizé’s Entre adultes, a film conceived after a challenge to write the screenplay in ten days with the collaboration of his actors. In 2009 his Mademoiselle Chambon (COL•COA 2010) tells the story of an unexpected romance. Praised for its patience and delicacy, the film won many awards, including a Best Adaptation César Award in 2010. A Few Hours of Spring received four 2013 César Award nominations, including Best Director, Best Original Screenplay (with co-writer Florence Vignon), Best Actress and Best Actor.

“A Few Hours of Spring” is full of quality ingredients, from subtle performances to the unobtrusive score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis.” ~ Dan Fainaru, Screen Daily

“Brizé’s sense of pace, Antoine Héberlé’s unobtrusively sensitive camera and the two leading performances save the day.” ~ Boyd Van Hoeij, Variety