North American Premiere
Valérie Donzelli’s film begins as a sunny romance and slowly, subtly becomes a defiant feminist drama. When Blanche (Virginie Efira) meets Greg (Melvil Poupaud) at a seaside party, she’s quickly won over by his confidence and charm. Soon she’s pregnant by him, and the two make a decision to become life partners. Eventually, Greg reveals himself to be jealous, possessive, and controlling, and when Blanche seeks comfort outside the marriage, things escalate further.
Efira excels in a dual role (playing both Blanche and her twin sister), and as Greg, Poupaud performs the transition from sweet seducer to fearsome abuser with chilling believability. Donzelli laces the drama with brief, impressionistic images, and she shows the same skill for evoking beauty in her heroine: Blanche’s visage, whether showing pain, pleasure, or things in between, is radiantly expressive.
First and foremost a feminist work of truth… charts with formidable, novelistic acuity the trajectory of a woman falling under the control of a man.
Fabien Lemercier, Cineuropa
Virginie Efira, Melvil Poupaud, Dominique Reymond, Romane Bohringer, Virginie Ledonyen
France
2023
Showcase
In French with English subtitles
Domestic Violence
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Producer
Alice Girard & Edouard Weil
Screenwriter
Valérie Donzelli
Cinematography
Laurent Tangy
Editor
Pauline Gaillard
Production Design
Gaëlle Usandivaras
Original Music
Gabriel Yared
Director
Valérie Donzelli
Valérie Donzelli, born March 2, 1973, is a French actress, filmmaker, and screenwriter. Despite starting in architecture, her passion shifted to acting. Partnering with Jérémie Elkaïm, they pursued creative ventures together. Donzelli gained fame through TV’s Clara Sheller before her directorial debut, The Queen of Hearts (2008). Declaration of War (2011) drew from her experience when her son battled cancer. A multifaceted artist, she remains a poignant force in French cinema.
Filmography: The Queen of Hearts (2008); Declaration of War (2011); Hand in Hand (2012); Notre Dame (2019)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
The Matrix
Can a computer hacker save the world? Maybe if you hack deep enough... One of the most influential movies of the past quarter-century. The Matrix didn't just change the way films looked and moved, it altered the way we perceived the world(s).
Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World
Sasha Waters' documentary takes us through the life of America's best-selling late twentieth century poet, a private woman who shared her innermost thoughts and made them indispensable.
Late Fame
Based on a novella by Arthur Schnitzler (Eyes Wide Shut) this is a sly, poignant comedy about vanity and art from director Kent Jones, starring Willem Dafoe as a mailman belatedly acclaimed for a book of poetry he wrote in his youth.
Palimpsest: The Story of a Name
Drawing on home movies and diaries from the 1930s, 40s, 50s and 60s, Canadian filmmaker Mary Stephen (Eric Rohmer's editor for many years) investigates the origins of her surname. After all, she was born in Hong Kong to Chinese parents. Or were they... ?
The Sixth Sense
"I see dead people." Does 10-year-old Cole (Haley Joel Osment) have the sixth sense, as he claims — or is this sensitive, unusual child responding to stress, as his mother (Toni Collette) would like to believe? Psychologist Bruce Willis finds out.
Office Space
This razor sharp comedy from Mike Judge (King of the Hill) captures the indignities of life as a wage slave with rare acumen and caustic wit. Evidently the impending millennial bug weighed heavily on people's minds back in 1999.