When Fall Is Coming Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

When Fall Is Coming Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 4, 2025

If you're the type of murder mystery lover who prefers to have every jot and/or tittle explained thoroughly, leaving no pesky questions for later rumination, it might be best to stay far, far away from When Fall is Coming. That may be particularly true since it's not even clear whether there's an actual murder to provide a mystery to begin with. And in fact writer and director François Ozon is on hand in an interview included as a supplement overtly mentioning how his aim with When Fall is Coming was really not to craft a traditional "thriller", but instead to explore a number of relationships, with an emphasis on what Ozon euphemistically calls "women of a certain age", before (somewhat hilariously) clarifying that to mean "elderly women". Those two senior citizens are BFFs Michelle Giraud (Hélène Vincent) and Marie-Claude Perrin (Josiane Balasko), who, along with quite a few other characters in the film, seem to have some kind of history with each other, even if Ozon doesn't seem particularly interested in exploring those back stories, instead concentrating on "current" events, which contextually provide at least a little (if arguably not enough for some) information on what has gone on before.

The main "mystery" in the film involves Michelle's daughter Valérie Tessier (Ludivine Sagnier), who already (shades of that aforementioned unexplained back story construction) has an estranged relationship with her mother, something that plays into Michelle's relationship with her grandson, Valérie's child Lucas (played by Garlan Erlos for the bulk of the story). Things get even more fraught when Valérie ends up seriously poisoned after eating some mushrooms that Michelle has harvested, a near tragedy that Valérie is certain was not the "accident" Michelle insists it was. Already Ozon is toying with the audience, dropping little hints which may or may not point to certain ambiguities, but which provide the necessary labyrinth for the characters to interact in, a labyrinth that becomes even more crowded and complex when Marie-Claude's adult son Vincent (Pierre Lottin) is released from prison and is especially friendly with Michelle, which in turn unavoidably leads to his involvement with both Lucas and Valérie. The inability of the two elder women to successfully navigate relationships with their own children recurs in various ways throughout the story.

Suffice it to say there is a "mysterious" death that ensues, and indeed even a (fairly brief) police presence, but as Ozon himself states, this is really not a "murder mystery" in any traditional sense. There are a number of intentionally unanswered questions confronting those willing to actually think about them as this story wends its way to a somewhat baffling conclusion, but if the destination is therefore a bit opaque, the journey is often quite captivating and weirdly darkly funny and disturbing in about equal measure.

When Fall Is Coming Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

When Fall is Coming is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Music Box Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. The Arri Alexa Mini is cited on the IMDb, but as of the writing of this review, there's no resolution for the DI (which I suspect was 2K). This is an often gorgeous looking presentation that beautifully exploits both stunning French countryside and some charming villages in an around Burgundy, a location Ozon mentions was especially intriguing for him due to how picturesque it is. Detail levels on both weathered (elderly) faces and all the practical items like sets, costumes, and even things like foliage and mushroom are typically excellent. The one niggling point of concern might be a slightly odd looking color timing and contrast that actually kind of reminded me of several Blu-ray releases from Film Movement in particular. In this case there's a slightly blanched, anemic look in terms of contrast at times, and the color timing looks just slightly yellow to peach in some outdoor material, with blue tones predominating in several interior shots, aside from any production design emphases.

When Fall Is Coming Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

When Fall is Coming features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 options in the original French. The glut of outdoor material provides some nice engagement of the side and rear channels for ambient environmental effects, but arguably the most instantly noticeable change between the stereo and surround tracks is the really evocative piano-centric score by Evgueni Galperine and Sacha Galperine, which is rather melancholic and presented spaciously in the 5.1 iteration. Occasional slightly more bustling moments like a panicked scene in the emergency room waiting area after the poisoning also provide at least intermittent immersion. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

When Fall Is Coming Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interviews are subtitled in English:

François Ozon (HD; 5:51)




Hélène Vincent and Josiane Balasko (HD; 2:14)




Ludvine Sagnier (HD; 5:36)


Note: There is a Play All option for the above interviews.

• Deleted Scenes (HD; 8:14)


• Bloopers (HD; 10:09)


• Costume and Light Tests (HD; 5:38)


• Poster Featurette (HD; 2:24)


• Teaser (HD; 1:03)


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 1:55)

Note: There is a Play All option for all of the above supplements.

When Fall Is Coming Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

François Ozon overtly mentions the writing of Georges Simenon as a formative inspiration for this piece, which may or may not be as misleading as some of the sidebars offered in the film itself, though that reference may allude to an undeniably psychological focus on a story that kind of only tangentially deal with a mysterious death. This is a real showcase for Hélène Vincent in particular, though Josiane Balasko also has some great moments as the snarkier of the pair. All of the supporting performances are well done as well, and the film benefits from a kind of sylvan setting that may be intentionally at odds with some of the roiling emotional content. Technical merits are solid (with some possible minor quibbles mentioned above), and the supplements enjoyable. Recommended.