Grand Froid

Looking at that lonely street in that Godforsaken town lost in the middle of nowhere, you would not say this is Christmas. Of course it is snowy and the cold is biting but where is the joy of Yule? Not in the Chinese restaurant where the (non Asian) owner keeps serving sake to the local barfly and to two or three other loners pretending to feel fine. Even less so at the funeral parlor across the street where business is more than quiet: for God’s sake, why doesn’t anybody want to die? Edmond Zweck, the undertaker, is like a bear with a sore head and Georges, his right arm, and Eddy, the junior employee are busy killing – time. But miracles happen at Christmas, don’t they? For instance in that lonely street of that Godforsaken town. Edmond, Georges and Eddy are on the verge of despair when two people enter the parlor. A man has just died and his widow and her brother want Zweck and Company to organize the funeral. Hardly trying to hide their joy, they set off for the cemetery. But as of the beginning, things go wrong before – moving from Charybdis to Scylla.