Normandy, 1819. Jeanne is a young woman full of childish dreams and innocence when she returns home after finishing her schooling in a convent. She marries a local Viscount, Julien de Lamare, who soon reveals himself to be a miserly and unfaithful man.

Adapted from Guy de Maupassant’s novel, this period drama by Stephane Brizé (The Measure of a Man) contains both tenderness and cruelty. A distinctive aura is brought to the common theme of a woman’s unhappy marriage through astute, sensitive observation—and underlined by its tight 4:3 aspect ratio.