L'ennui

Traumatised by the separation from his wife, a philosophy teacher, Martin finds himself experiencing a mid-life crisis. When he learns that an ageing artist he met recently died whilst making love, he is intrigued and visits the artist’s studio. Here, he meets the artist’s model, a plump seventeen year old named Cécilia, who reveals that her former employer had an insatiable appetite for sex. Martin’s curiosity about the relationship between artist and model soon turns into obsession as he arranges a daily meeting with Cécilia in his apartment, where, in between having sex with her, he interrogates her about every detail of her life. Martin’s obsession intensifies and takes a dangerous turn when he discovers that Cécilia is dating another man.

L’ennui, the film which brought international acclaim for its director Cédric Kahn, provides one of French cinema’s most unsettling portraits of middle-life crisis and obsession. Although the film has a slightly surreal edge to it, the characters and their bizarre situation have a resonance of truth about them, making it an honest and immensely engrossing work. –filmsdefrance.com