Tënk's opinion

In the second half of the 19th century, the radical changes in winegrowing to tackle phylloxera (the development of grafting) still persist today. It’s the idea of permanence that’s at play in “La Patience des Vignes”. Combining black and white images shot on film-roll and others in colour and digital, the film takes a step sideways through a form of docu-fiction, ignoring historical contingencies. If Mr Chevrier's research leads him to straddle the decades, it’s because from one century to the next, some uses remain. As well as reminding us of the perpetual state of fragility to which illnesses subject us, this intermingling of snatches of images and eras portrays the persistence and the necessary, laborious repetition of actions, practices and skills.
 

Caroline Châtelet
Journalist and critic