A Woman's Life

In 1819, Jeanne, a young noblewoman, returns to her parents' country estate on the Normandy coast after completing her education at a convent. The well-protected Jeanne dreams of love, which she only knows from books. Full of romantic ideas, she agrees to marry the impoverished Viscount Julien de Lamare. After the wedding ceremony, Jeanne's parents leave the family estate to her husband, and Jeanne realizes how naive she has been in her view of the world. For soon Julien is cheating on her. In vibrant images of delicate beauty and great intensity, the film adaptation of Maupassant's famous novel tells the timeless story of a woman who seems unable to come to terms with a world of lies and deceit. The tenacity with which she tries to preserve her idea of the world against all reason makes Jeanne a heroine as fascinating as she is disturbing.