Victor... pendant qu'il est trop tard (1998)
Directed by Sandrine Veysset

Film Review

Sandrine Veysset's eagerly awaited follow-up to her widely acclaimed debut feature Y aura-t-il de la neige à Noël? (1996) is another judiciously constructed slice-of-life offering a child's eye perspective on the cruelties and injustices of life, although on this occasion the tone is somewhat darker.  In contrast to the previous film, set in the open expanses of a sun-drenched locale in the south of France, Victor... pendant qu'il est trop tard is an intimate nocturnal fable contained within the claustrophobic personal Hell of its protagonists - a young boy desperate for parental love and the vulnerable prostitute who becomes a stand-in mother.

Veysset's thoughtful and stylish second film touches on some sensitive issues, including child abuse and paedophilia, but for the most part it concerns itself with the developing relationship between the two main characters who, equally afflicted with a profound need for love and approval, find a dramatic release from their present miseries via their unlikely friendship.  The performances are understated but effective in conveying the excruciating inner turmoil of the protagonists, whose interior world is reflected in the stark, moody photography that is employed so adeptly by Veysset.  Under-appreciated, Veysset's unique cinema is richly evocative of the pain that blights so many human lives, and in Victor... pendant qu'il est trop tard the director is at her most eloquent and perceptive.

Film Synopsis

Victor is a troubled ten-year-old boy who has had enough of his neglectful parents.  One evening, he runs away from home and takes refuge amid the hustle and bustle of a busy funfair.  Later that night, he is found fast asleep in one of the fairground rides by its young operator, Mick.  Taking pity on the likeable child, Mick persuades him to accompany him to his girlfriend Triche, who allows him to stay with her in her modest home.  Triche, a prostitute who is badly in debt to another of her profession, has her own worries, but somehow her budding relationship with Victor begins to help her see a way through her forest of woes.  Victor makes friends with Robert, the boy from the apartment below, but this only leads the youngster into deeper trouble...