Four years after the end of the First World War, Georges Laffont is still
coming to terms with the horror of trench warfare, which have left him with
permanent psychological scars. Unable to resume life in France after
the war, he fled to Africa where for the past few years he has led the life
of a nomad and adventurer. In 1923, he decides to return to France
and rejoin his mother and elder brother Marcel, who, like him, still hasn't
recovered from his wartime ordeals. Badly traumatised by his experiences,
Marcel has lost the ability to speak and is being taught sign language by
the charming Hélène. Within a short time of their first
meeting, Georges and Hélène discover a strong mutual attraction.
Georges invites her to accompany him on his return to Africa, but she hesitates,
unsure whether she is equipped to deal with his inner sickness...
It was American film noir and pulp fiction that kick-started the craze for thrillers in 1950s France and made it one of the most popular and enduring genres.
A wave of fresh talent in the late 1950s, early 1960s brought about a dramatic renaissance in French cinema, placing the auteur at the core of France's 7th art.
Franz Kafka's letters to his fiancée Felice Bauer not only reveal a soul in torment; they also give us a harrowing self-portrait of a man appalled by his own existence.