Vortex 2022

Couple's life in the apartment

An aging couple lives in a quiet apartment, the distinguished author and the retired psychiatrist. They confront the toll of age and ill health, with reality sometimes slipping away as the screen literally splits into two. Their daily routine reveals memories bound to books, objects, and shared routines that anchor them to the past.

Growing distance between them

As illness deepens, the pair drift apart and lose touch with one another. The film reinforces this through the split-screen motif, showing parallel lives that echo but don't connect. Their conversations become fragments, underscoring unspoken worries and fading intimacy.

Husband's plan and reluctance

The husband is reluctant to reveal his wife's condition and clings to a sense of control. He tries to finish a new book about cinema and dreams, hoping to preserve momentum in the face of decay. He resists selling the apartment, fearing the loss of memories wrapped in his books and cherished objects.

Family dynamics and appeals

Stéphane, their son, lives separately with his young son Kiki and carries his own burden of addiction. He pleads with his parents to move into supervised housing with caretakers, hoping for help to manage the situation. Yet the husband refuses the move, determined to stay in the apartment he loves.

Heart attack in the morning

The husband's health deteriorates and he collapses from a heart attack in the apartment. In the morning, the wife discovers him on the floor and, at first, does not know what to do, then telephones Stéphane for help. The moment reveals the fragility of their bond and catalyzes a cascade of difficult choices.

Hospitalization and death

The husband is taken to the hospital and ultimately dies, marking a turning point for the family. The death intensifies the strain between memory and loss as the film shifts its visual language. The split screens begin to reflect the new, separate realities of the surviving spouse and the son.

After the death: shifting screens

With the husband’s death, the split-screen dynamic shifts as Stéphane grows emotional and curls up on his mother’s lap. The apartment feels heavier as grief settles in, and the wife wanders the hallway in a daze. Time seems to stretch, highlighting how life continues despite loss.

Stéphane's relapse and his mother's resistance

Stéphane begins to use drugs again, overwhelmed by guilt and despair. His mother fights to guard him by removing all medications from the bathroom and trying to flush them away. The scene shows a fragile, desperate attempt to control danger in a house full of memories.

Wife's death and its implications

The wife dies peacefully in bed, though the film implies she succumbed to gas poisoning after turning on the kitchen stove. Her death arrives quietly, punctuating the film's meditation on care and neglect. The absence of her presence deepens the son's emotional burden.

Funeral and memories

At the funeral, Stéphane recounts the last months of caring for the couple while explaining their daily routines and losses. A slideshow presents moments from his mother's life, offering a bittersweet record of memory. The scene ties personal history to the communal ritual of mourning.

Urns and the question of home

Looking at the wall of urns, Kiki asks whether his grandparents have a new home now. Stéphane reminds him that homes are for the living, not for the dead. The exchange underscores the film's meditation on memory, belonging, and the impermanence of possessions.