'In many of Jacques Rivette's sublime films, enigmas come wrapped in mysteries before eventually disclosing their secrets; The Story of Marie and Julien is no exception. Rivette is now in his fifth decade of filmmaking and, like his New Wave colleagues Jean-Luc Godard and Eric Rohmer, he shows no signs of slowing production. Rivette now turns to darker material to fashion a film that is eerie, chilling and deeply moving.

'Julien (Jerzy Radziwilowicz) leads a somewhat aimless and unassuming life, fixing old clocks of every size and shape. Yet he has stumbled across a secret that allows him to blackmail the well-to-do Madame X (Anne Brochet), whom he meets clandestinely to negotiate his fee'The price constantly increasing in response to her resistance to pay. At the same time, Julien is trying to revive his relationship with the beautiful and sensual Marie (Emmanuelle Béart), a woman who haunts his dreams. Eventually, Marie comes to live with him and the self-contained Julien finds himself dealing with the demands of the two women in his life'one in a relationship he controls; the other, one who controls him.' -Toronto International Film Festival

D Jacques Rivette P Martine Marginac S Pascal Bonitzer, Christine Laurent, Jaques Rivette WS Celluliod Dreams L French w/English subtitles TD 35mm/Col/2003/150mins

Jacques Rivette was born in Rouen, France in 1928. Films include: La Religieuse (1966), Le Belle Noiseuse (1991), Va Savoir (2001).