Villa Amalia

Benoit Jacquot's Villa Amalia, his fifth collaboration with Isabelle Huppert, is an assured and intriguing exploration of the experiences of a woman who abandons her career and liquidates her possessions to head off towards an unknown future.

Legendary French screen actress Isabelle Huppert headlines this sumptuous, passionate tale, adapted from the acclaimed novel by Pascal Quignard (All the Mornings of the World). Huppert stars as Ann, a gifted and brilliant musician whose sense of security falls to pieces when she witnesses her husband kissing another woman. Without hesitation, she abandons him and takes a headlong rush into the arms of a new beginning, embarking on a transnational journey that ultimately takes her to an isolated villa on the secluded island of Ischia, Italy.

Once settled, Ann insists on goading herself to fresh extremes, and takes it upon herself to swim out as far into the ocean as possible. Fainting under the scorching summer rays, her floating body is pulled out of the water by local woman Giulia, with whom Ann begins to explore a whole new facet of life.

"A sombre reflection on the ultimate romantic fantasy" - Sight & Sound