There's more than a hint of Jacques Rivette about this splendidly sprawling saga, which only goes to prove that it's impossible to know yourself, let alone anyone else. Gallery owner Emmanuelle Devos seems outwardly assured. But as she deals with her impending third marriage and the death of her novelist father, it becomes clear she's suppressing a raging torrent of delusional self-obsession that dwarfs the neurotic eccentricities of her viola-playing, debt-riddled second husband, Mathieu Amalric - and he's just been committed to an asylum.
Incorporating flashbacks, false memories, ghostly visitations and confessions to camera, the action is studded with breathtaking set-pieces, including Devos' discovery of her father's scathing last letter and Amalric's touching explanation to her ten year-old son why he can't adopt him.