Petits arrangements avec les morts

France

Synopsis

A sunny beach in Brittany on an August afternoon. At the tidemark, a 45-year-old man is starting to build a sand-castle. Three people watch him from different areas of the beach. It's midday. The first person is Jumbo. He's a little boy hiding under a pedal boat. The previous afternoon, the sand-castle builder and the child spoke together for a while. Jumbo undertook to keep an eye on the castle built the previous day, but the castle was destroyed. Jumbo feels a little guilty. About this and other things. Other recent events that he links to the incident. The second is sitting on a bench, on the viewpoint above the beach. This man is aged thirty and happens to be the brother of the sand-castle builder. He watches him, from a distance. He think about him, about the ancient rivalry that opposes them. Francois's story is one of conflict between two brothers. The third is lying on her beach towel, slightly back from the castle. This is a woman of forty, nicknamed Zaza, and she is the sister of the two men. Zaza is losing her footing in life. Hers is the story of a strong woman who doesn't understand what's happening to her and who tries everything to save herself. Or how one voluntarily chooses to shut oneself off from the world. The film follows each of these characters in turn throughout the afternoon. As the story moves forwards, a pattern is revealed, linking the three protagonists. All three, while still young, as children or teenagers, were marked by the death of someone close. All felt guilty, but each one of them has found a way to "come to terms with it"...
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Cast & Crew

Directed by: Pascale Ferran

Written by: Pierre Trividic, Pascale Ferran

Produced by: Aline Mehouel

Cast: Catherine Ferran (Zaza), Charles Berling (François), Sabrina Leurquin (Suzanne), Didier Sandre (Vincent)

Nominations and Awards

  • Feature Film Selection 1994