Winter Boy
Film poster
FrenchLe Lycéen
Directed byChristophe Honoré
Written byChristophe Honoré
Produced byPhilippe Martin
David Thion
StarringPaul Kircher
Juliette Binoche
Vincent Lacoste
CinematographyRémy Chevrin
Edited byChantal Hymans
Music byYoshihiro Hanno
Production
companies
Auvergne Rhône-Alpes Cinéma
France 2 Cinéma
Les Films Pelléas
Distributed byMemento Distribution
Release dates
  • September 9, 2022 (2022-09-09) (TIFF)
  • November 30, 2022 (2022-11-30) (France)
Running time
122 minutes
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench
Box office$484,040[1]

Winter Boy (French: Le Lycéen) is a French drama film, directed by Christophe Honoré and released in 2022.[2] The film stars Paul Kircher as Lucas, a gay teenager coping with the sudden and unexpected death of his father in an accident that may or may not have been suicide.[3]

The film's cast also includes Juliette Binoche as Lucas's mother Isabelle, Vincent Lacoste as his older brother Quentin, Adrien Casse as his boyfriend Oscar and Honoré himself as the father,[3] as well as Xavier Giannoli, Pascal Cervo, Wilfried Capet, Jean-Philippe Salerio, Erwan Kepoa Falé, Anne Kessler and Isabelle Thevenoux in supporting roles.

Winter Boy premiered in the Contemporary World Cinema program at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival,[4] and screened in competition at the 70th San Sebastián International Film Festival.[5] The film received generally positive reviews, with praise going towards the performances of Kircher, Binoche and Lacoste. For his portrayal of Lucas, Kircher won the Silver Shell for Best Leading Performance and was nominated for Most Promising Actor at the Lumières and César Awards.

Cast

  • Paul Kircher as Lucas Ronis
  • Vincent Lacoste as Quentin Ronis, Lucas' older brother
  • Juliette Binoche as Isabelle Ronis, Lucas and Quentin's mother
  • Erwan Kepoa Falé as Lilio Rossio, Quentin's friend and roommate in Paris
  • Christophe Honoré as Lucas and Quentin's father
  • Adrien Casse as Oscar, Lucas' boyfriend in high school
  • Anne Kessler as Sonia
  • Elliot Jenicot as Thierry
  • Pascal Cervo as Father Benoît
  • Lawa Fauquet as Lilio's mother
  • Matéo Demurtas as Gabriel

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 76% of 25 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.7/10.[6] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 64 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[7] The film received an average rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars on the French website AlloCiné, based on 34 reviews.[8]

Reviewing the film for The New York Times, Devika Girish said that the film "shines when it allows its actors to quietly play out family dynamics, with Lacoste, Binoche and especially Kircher wearing the many shades of grief with effortless, endearing naturalism."[9] Derek Smith of Slant Magazine noted that "where many films show grief merely as a crippling hindrance, Winter Boy sees it as an emotional state that constantly rises and recedes, disrupting the flow and morphing the meaning of everyday experience" and went on to praise Kircher, Binoche and Lacoste's performances. Describing the former's performance, Smith wrote that Kircher delivered a "remarkably restrained yet captivating debut performance" and that he "imbues Lucas with a precociousness and mischievousness that makes it challenging to easily discern exactly how he's handling his father's untimely death or what exactly drives his increasingly curious behavior." On the latter two, Smith opined that "Binoche and Lacoste are superb in their small roles, and through their respective characters' attempts to both guide and restrain Lucas."[10]

Awards and nominations

Award Date of ceremony Category Nominee(s) Result Ref
San Sebastián International Film Festival 16–24 September 2022 Silver Shell for Best Leading Performance Paul Kircher Won [11]
Lumières Awards 16 January 2023 Most Promising Actor Paul Kircher Nominated [12]
Best Screenplay Christophe Honoré Nominated
César Awards 24 February 2023 Most Promising Actor Paul Kircher Nominated [13]

References

  1. ↑ "Winter Boy (2022)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  2. ↑ Hadrien Volle, "Christophe Honoré nous plonge dans les sentiments de l’adolescence avec Le Lycéen". Ici Radio-Canada, September 11, 2022.
  3. 1 2 Anju Devadas, "WINTER BOY (2022) ‘TIFF’ REVIEW: AN AFFECTING AND PERSONAL MEDITATION ON LOSS & GRIEF". High on Films, September 11, 2022.
  4. ↑ Samantha Bergeson, "TIFF Unveils Contemporary World Cinema Lineup: ‘Aftersun,’ ‘EO’ Among Toronto Premieres". IndieWire, August 17, 2022.
  5. ↑ John Hopewell, "Sebastian Lelio, Hong Sang-soo, Ulrich Seidl Bound for San Sebastian Main Competition". Variety, August 2, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Winter Boy". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  7. ↑ "Winter Boy". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  8. ↑ "Critiques Presse pour le film Le Lycéen". AlloCiné (in French). Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  9. ↑ Girish, Devika (27 April 2023). "'Winter Boy' Review: Lost and Found". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  10. ↑ Smith, Derek (24 April 2023). "'Winter Boy' Review: Self-Discovery Provocatively Born of Grief". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  11. ↑ Roxborough, Scott (24 September 2022). "'The Kings of the World' Wins San Sebastian Film Festival Golden Shell for Best Film". The Hollywood Reporter.
  12. ↑ Goodfellow, Melanie (16 January 2023). "Dominik Moll's 'The Night Of The 12th' & Albert Serra's 'Pacification' Lead Prizes At French Lumière Awards". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  13. ↑ Keslassy, Elsa (25 January 2023). "France's Cesar Awards Nominations Unveiled". Variety. Retrieved 8 September 2023.


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