Directed by:
Safy NebbouCinematography:
Gilles PorteComposer:
Ibrahim MaaloufCast:
Juliette Binoche, François Civil, Guillaume Gouix, Jules Houplain, Charles Berling, Nicole Garcia, Claude Perron, Marie-Ange Casta, Jules GauzelinPlots(1)
Attractive professor Claire, 50, is a single mother of two children. Her relationship with her younger lover, a photographer, is difficult. To get back at him, she makes friends on Facebook with his assistant Alex, 29. Using a fake profile, she masquerades as 24-year-old Clara, and Alex takes the bait. As their flirty chat intensifies, Alex decides he wants to meet this woman of his dreams. Claire always manages to invent new excuses to keep him at bay in real life without alienating him online. Her children and her job fall by the wayside as she increasingly succumbs to the allure of her parallel world – until realities begin to blur and a disaster occurs. Based on the eponymous novel by Camille Laurens, Safy Nebbou depicts Claire’s drift into virtual reality from different perspectives, and also in conversations between Claire and her therapist. Even though the love affair is only taking place on the internet, the feelings are nonetheless real. Juliette Binoche plays a woman caught in an in-between world in which lies, dreams and reality are blurred. She delivers a portrait of a woman struggling to cope with the wounds inflicted by loneliness and growing older. (Berlinale)
(more)Reviews (1)
"If someone dies, what do you do with their virtual identity? Will you leave her alone? Will you delete it? What choice does one have?" - "There is no greater rival in love than one who does not exist." - "A man is never so old that he doesn't sometimes feel quite small." +++ I deliberately chose less personal quotes so as not to give away anything crucial about the plot. Not many contemporary films have such a perfectly thought-out and surprising script. This film has a lot of depth, and the great Juliette Binoche in the lead role is a huge plus. The compact whole is then completed by wonderful, melancholic music, composed by the acclaimed composer Ibrahim Maalouf. (95%)
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