In the natural continuation of his “Les Destinées sentimentales”, Assayas returns from the corporate aspect of the modern world to that basic unit of society, the family. And the result is a quietly breath-taking humane drama. Every shot, glide, (un)said line, worried look… are so perfect that you almost can’t comment on them. This film draws such a gentle line between general ups and downs of life, it’s incredible. Hope and despair, past and future, art and commodity, all those things weave the persons we are and the existence we endure. The past must live inside our hearts, not on some shelves in a museum. What is the point of nostalgia then? The answer is in the film’s magical progression from sadness to optimism.

Our destiny is modern, not sentimental.