Après lui

This melancholy, emotionally-charged film showcases the talent of screen legend Catherine Deneuve, proving once again that it is not only her undeniable charisma, but her talent for acting that fuels and defines her iconic status within the world of French film.

Faced with the untimely loss of her son, a grieving mother (Deneuve) becomes romantically involved with her son’s best friend, a man ridden with guilt at having been responsible for the car accident that caused his death. As family and friends melt away in disapproval, the relationship intensifies, revealing the truth behind the attraction. With ominously morbid undertones, the issues surrounding grief, guilt and sexuality are combined to make a devastatingly moving film.

Writer and director Gael Morel, hailed as one of the most promising auteur directors of his generation, succeeds in staying true to the core of the film through a sense of authentic realism, a lack of pretentiousness and a simple, almost poetic way of pulling the audience deep into the characters and their stories.

International audiences may be more familiar with Gael Morel as the unassuming teenager in André Téchiné’s Wild Reeds. His sixth feature is another accomplished work, of which the bleak scenario is uplifted by the wonderful writing of both Morel and Christophe Honoré, whose bittersweet portrait of life after a death can also been seen in his own film, Les Chansons D’amour.

see trailer