Les Revenants

Christmas always reminds me of my mother. She would have been 74 on Christmas Day this year. Needless to say, it’s not the easiest time of the year for me.

A few months after my mother died, I had a dream that still sticks with me. In the dream, I knew my mother had died, but she came back. She knew she had died; we all knew she had died, but we were glad to have her back. We also knew that she would have to go away again, and she did. The dream left me with a sense of peace. I never felt like I got to say goodbye to my mother and that dream was a way for me to in my head, what I never got to do in reality.

A few months ago, I saw the film, ‘Les Revenants’, about a town dealing with a number of townspeople who have returned from being dead. It’s not a horror movie, but more a movie about how people of the town try to understand, and deal with, the undead. I didn’t love the movie, but a few weeks ago I thought I’d give the French TV series based on the movie a try. 

Something about the show had really struck me. I can’t stop thinking about it; the concept of these people coming back from the dead. I watch the show and am constantly taken back to the dream I had about my mother. 

I don’t know how much of my interest in the show is in the show itself and how much of it is connecting me to my mother, at a time of year when I’m constantly reminded of her, and bringing me some kind of comfort, like that dream did 6 years ago.