Winter Boy
2022 · Directed by Christophe Honoré
Original language: French
- drama
The story
Lucas is a 17-year-old gay teenager coping with the sudden and unexpected death of his father in an accident that may or may not have been suicide. He views his life as a wild animal in need of taming. Between a brother settled in Paris and a mother with whom he now lives alone, Lucas will have to fight to rediscover hope and love.
What it’s like
Soft, washed-out daylight through windows and the pale grey-blue of northern French winter streets give Winter Boy a muted, hushed look, with handheld camera work that stays close to its teenage lead and lets scenes breathe in long unbroken takes. Interiors feel lived-in and a little cold, with bare kitchens, rain on glass and the soft pop of a stereo in an empty flat, while the score is sparse and wistful, with more room given to silence than to melody. The vibe is tender and wintry, grief-heavy but not bleak, a slow thaw rather than a storm, and it suits a rainy afternoon, a quiet evening alone, or a moody weekend when you want something emotionally honest. Pacing is unhurried and observational, and its emotional register stays tender and bruised, following a grieving young man who drifts between defiance and longing as he slowly learns to let people close. Sexual content is frank and present, including explicit moments between young men, and the grief is raw, with some scenes of despair and self-harm-adjacent unease, but violence is minimal and nothing is gory. It is for viewers drawn to French coming-of-age dramas and queer youth stories who can sit with sorrow and sensuality and want a gentle, quietly hopeful ending.
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