A small French gem, the kind that once was seen regularly in cinemas in Holland but not any more. An interesting theme, an ingenious screenplay, a suggestive and filmic narrative and nice acting. The kind of film that seems to come to the surface naturally in a country with a long and rich film tradition. Protagonist is one of the many long rivers that continually changes in character as it meanders through the French landscape. Sometimes still, then bubbling or wildly swirling, the water rules the lives of all kinds of animals and people and feeds many lusts, fears and fantasies. The water is a source of pure magic in this film. That is revealed to the viewer in three stories that come together in a mysterious way. Jacques Deschamps knows how to suggest a magic picture of the world with a combination of nature sounds, animal pictures, majestic aerial shots and fairy-tale events.Hans Kroon
