Berenice returns for Carla, but fate decides otherwise in Here It All Begins

The film opens with a melancholic, almost suspended atmosphere at the heart of the Auguste Armand Institute. Morning light filters through the stained-glass windows of the great hall, revealing an invisible tension. Students cross paths, their gazes avoiding each other, as if a secret were hanging in the air. That day, nothing seems quite normal: something is brewing, a dull emotion that everyone feels but can’t name. And at the center of this tumult, two wounded hearts will reunite—Bérénice and Carla—but fate, cruel and capricious, will decide otherwise.

It all begins with the unexpected return of Bérénice , after several weeks of absence. The camera follows her, a fragile but determined figure, as she once again crosses the doors of the Institute. Her face is imbued with a new strength, but her gaze betrays apprehension. She is no longer quite the same. Behind her apparent serenity, we can guess the scars left by her hasty departure, this flight whose reasons no one really knew. Her footsteps echo in the hall, each echo seeming to awaken a memory.

Carla , for her part, never expected to see again the person she still considers the person she has missed—and hurt—the most. She bumps into her by chance, in a hallway, at the corner of a pastry tray. Time seems to stand still. Their gazes meet, intense, silent. Embarrassment, pain, repressed tenderness, everything mixes in that split second. Bérénice gives a fragile smile, Carla looks away. The scene, poignantly simple, already foreshadows what comes next: this reunion will not be an easy reconciliation.

Little by little, flashbacks reveal the reasons for Bérénice’s departure. An argument, a moral injury, a poorly kept secret. She felt betrayed, misunderstood. But the film also shows her slow reconstruction, far from the Institute, in a peaceful setting where she has found a certain balance. Her return is not motivated by chance: she wants to see Carla again, to finally tell her what she never had the courage to admit. However, everything will become complicated upon her arrival.

At the same time, Constance and Teyssier sense the growing tension between the two young women. The director, behind his usual coldness, understands that this return risks disrupting the group’s cohesion. He warns Bérénice: “Here, strong emotions don’t mix well with discipline.” A phrase that resonates like a prophecy. Because, despite her precautions, the young woman quickly finds herself caught up in the whirlwind of feelings she thought she had mastered.

The staging alternates between kitchens, veritable arenas of confrontation, and moments of suspended intimacy, where Bérénice and Carla seek each other without daring to find each other. In a moving scene, the two find themselves alone in the greenhouse of the Institute. Bérénice tries to explain her departure, to justify her silence. Carla, hurt, lets out her anger: “You had no right to leave like that!” The words clatter, tears well up. It is one of those dialogues that leaves the viewer hanging, torn between pain and hope.

But fate, once again, doesn’t intend to leave them alone. The arrival of a new character— Julien , a former friend of Bérénice—will shake things up. His discreet charm and apparent kindness mask more murky intentions. Very quickly, Carla perceives something ambiguous about him. Bérénice, on the other hand, seems to trust him. A series of misunderstandings ensue, fueling jealousy and doubt. The film then slides into sentimental drama, mixing thwarted passions and unexpected revelations.

One of the most powerful moments occurs during a culinary competition held at the Institute. Carla and Bérénice, forced to collaborate, must present a dessert symbolizing “the reconciliation of opposites.” The symbol is obvious, almost cruel. As the preparation progresses, memories resurface, gestures become more hesitant. But as they prepare their plates, an incident occurs: a burn, a scream, a dish shattered on the floor. The visual chaos reflects the emotional turmoil within them.

After this bitter defeat, Bérénice runs away. Carla catches up with her on the forecourt, in the light rain. That’s where everything plays out. The two women finally open up. Bérénice confesses that she came back for her, that she never stopped thinking about her, that she wanted to start all over again. Carla, distraught, confides that she tried to move on without succeeding. The scene is of a rare intensity, carried by a vibrant silence. For a moment, we believe in reconciliation, in the return of light. But fate, cruel, intervenes one last time.

An unexpected call shatters everything: Julien, on the run after being unmasked for stealing a recipe from the Institute, causes a car accident. And in that car… is Bérénice. The shots follow one another with unbearable dramatic intensity: the sirens, the shock, the blood on the pavement, Carla running into the night. She screams his name, in vain. The film then reaches its emotional climax.

At the hospital, Carla remains at the bedside of the unconscious Bérénice. She talks to her, tells her everything she never dared to say: her anger, her love, her loss. The camera lingers on their hands brushing against each other, on the heart monitor whose beep marks the rhythm of their destinies. The viewer holds their breath. The screenplay plays on the boundary between life and death, between what could have been and what remains to be saved.

In the final minutes, Carla’s voiceover concludes the story with a heartbreaking line: “We think we have time… but destiny never waits for us.” The final shot shows the Institute’s kitchen, empty, where the dessert they had started together lies unfinished, a symbol of their interrupted love.

This film, inspired by the world of Here It All Begins , goes beyond a simple love story: it speaks of the weight of regret, the beauty of second chances, and the cruelty of chance. Berenice’s return, supposed to be a rebirth, becomes a bittersweet tragedy, a lesson on the fragility of bonds and the strength of feelings that can neither be erased nor forgotten.

When the credits roll, the viewer remains frozen, tears in their eyes, aware that in this universe where everything is played out in passion, the most beautiful of recipes – that of love – also remains the most unpredictable.