I loved the characters of the movie - the people were really *there* you could see them. Even though I did not understand the language and the subtitles were in French (which, since I am not very proficient in French, I had trouble reading sufficiently fast), I did appreciate the emotions conveyed by the protagonists. This movie might be a bit slow for some people - however I found the timing just right. A minor gripe is the sound - the recording is not particularly good and a lot of scenes are completely silent, apart from the audible tape hiss. The result is a a minor loss in atmosphere (The crackling of the fire, the sputtering of the lamp, the shifting under the blanket, the shallow sleeping breath, all could have added a lot to the silent scenes, if they were added at the barely-audible level).<br /><br />Apart from that, it is very good. Check it out.