In the north of France, a family lives in the woods, supported by the eldest son’s logging, despite his frequent, violent epileptic fits. The arrival of a stranger to help the logging sets off tremors that dislocate the delicate balance of family relationships.
A young American arrives in the city of Sofia, where he falls in love with a prostitute named Melania. Seymour wants to possess her, but to do so he has to betray a friend. And so begins Seymour’s “new life”.
In faint light, a body slowly moves, breaking out from total darkness. Then a second body, a woman. Dream or nightmare? Archaic or essential? Desire or struggle?
Philippe Grandrieux: You film with a history behind you. It’s hard to film as if Dreyer, Murnau and Lang had never existed. But I never think of antecedents as I film a shot; I couldn’t. I don’t have a cinephile background.