A romantic comedy from acclaimed French director
Jacques Rivette (
La Belle Noiseuse), this film centers on three men and three women whose lives converge during the run of a play in Paris. The star of the play, Camille (
Jeanne Balibar), is returning to Paris after leaving her stuffy boyfriend Pierre (Jacques Bonaffe) and residing in Italy. Her Italian theater company has brought her to France, where the show is run by her lover, director, and co-star Ugo (Sergio Castellitto). Ugo is concerned with the show's poor attendance, but also busy searching for a long-lost play by an Italian playwright. While on his quest, he discovers the beautiful young Do (Helene De Fougerolles), a student who offers to help him. Do's mother has a library that may contain the lost play, and Ugo runs into her possessive half-sibling Arthur (Bruno Todeschini), a shady man pursuing an affair with Pierre's wife Sonia (Mariane Basler), who also has a questionable past. After a brooding dinner at Pierre and Sonia's home, tensions mount in everybody's relationships and their romantic journeys are similarly tested. A lighter work from the usually dramatic filmmaker Rivette, the film was made by the director at the amazing age of 73.
~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide