Antoine leaves his new bride behind to go on a skiing excursion with his uncle up the mountain behind their village of Derborence. Nine weeks after an avalanche apparently buries them alive, Antoine returns home. Certain that his uncle has also survived, he resolves to go back up and look for him—leaving his now-pregnant wife behind once more.
Cinematography
Alpine landscapes that swallow humans whole.
Acting
Penot's unraveling is genuinely disturbing.
Direction
Reusser makes nature feel actively hostile.
Director
Francis Reusser
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Based on Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz's 1934 novel, a cornerstone of Swiss literature exploring peasant fatalism.
Reusser filmed in actual avalanche zones; the mountain's hostility you feel is completely authentic.
FR
CH
