The small Belgian town of Genappe revolves around its sugar factory. Rotting beets in the town′s surrounding drainage system attracts migratory birds. The quiet routine of Blanche′s family is upset when her young son disappears. When the boy′s corpse is found in the lake, Blanche feels she has lost everything. Her bereft husband and extended family, who find themselves the unwilling satellites of a mother′s mourning. The tragic event and its consequences are treated with dream-like touches as Blanche fights to rebuild her life and recover the essential. Each frame is a wonder as director Thomas de Thier, in collaboration with cinematographer Virginie Saint Martin, evokes a landscape and atmosphere that blend the sinister and dreamlike with the sensual. The film′s emotional authenticity is aided by Sophie Museur dignified performance as Blanche which binds us to her mental struggle.