The presence of Kristin Scott Thomas in this literate French film is so powerfully distinctive that it's as if Claudel has not merely written the lead role for her, but extrapolated his film's entire narrative structure from her personality. Her formidable presence, her beauty - elegant and drawn in early middle age - her air of hypersensitive awareness of all the tiny absurdities and indignities with which she is surrounded creates an intelligent, observant drama about dislocation, fragility and the inner pain of unshakeable memories.
