2 Autumns, 3 Winters

This playfully self-aware Gallic dramedy offers, in its own way, an homage to the fresh energy, excitement, and unconventional storytelling of the French New Wave from the late 1950s and early ‘60s. Writer-director Sébastien Betbeder's 2 Autumns, 3 Winters centers on three friends whose lives are punctuated by random events, coincidences, and uncertainties. The film opens with shaggy, adorable Arman (Vincent Macgaine) literally bumping into Amélie (Maud Wyler) while jogging through a Paris park, sparking an obvious attraction, although neither can quite seize the moment. Destiny sends the pair in different directions, until capricious fate brings them together again in a dark alley when Arman intervenes in an attempted assault on Amélie and is stabbed for his efforts. The two fall in love while Arman recuperates, but then Arman's friend, Benjamin (Bastien Bouillon)—the picture of youthful health—suffers a stroke that affects his speech, leading to the latter's romance with a speech therapist (Audrey Bastien). None of these twists and turns are revealed in a traditional storytelling way: in fact, much of the film finds the characters describing these chapters in their lives directly into the camera, complemented by scattered moments of action. An engaging movie about young adults navigating their way through lives that they cannot control while still finding faith in one another, this is highly recommended. (T. Keogh)