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Niels Schneider (Heartbeats) and Adele Exarchopoulos (Blue is the Warmest Color) tumble around in the mud in this genuinely French rural drama.

Big brother Thomas returns to his family in the south-east of France after several years of exile in the restaurant industry of Montreal. The visit, brought on by the fact that his mother is dying, does not only entail farewells but also a first encounter – with a six-year-old nephew he has hitherto never seen. Against the backdrop of a countryside being demolished and changed at a blinding pace, Thomas is driven to get to the bottom of his little brother’s death, and to confront his implacable father about his rumoured, murky political views. A constant presence is added in the form of hard-to-read Mona, his sister-in-law. Palud captures the countryside and its inhabitants in a sympathetic, low-key, honest and – above all – wonderfully French way.

• Camilla Larsson