Tormented actress Nadine Chevalier works on cheap soft-core movies to earn a living until she becomes the obsession of paparazzo Servais. He starts borrowing money from his underworld employer to launch an experimental stage production with Nadine as lead—but it also stars a demented German actor.

After his 1972 film The Devil was banned in his homeland, the great Polish visionary Andrzej Żuławski decamped to France to make this frenzied tale of troubled passion in love and art. Driven with animal fervour by an unforgettable Romy Schneider, this moody drama won her the César for Best Actress.