Three generations of a family of puppeteers are forced to reconcile their passion for tradition in the face of modernity in veteran filmmaker Philippe Garrel’s, In the Shadow of Women, poignant drama, for which he enlists the help of his children Louis, Esther and Léna Garrel to play the scions of the clan. Their father Simon (Aurélien Recoing) runs the troupe, a financially unsteady outfit known as Le Grand Chariot, with the help of grandmother Gabrielle (Francine Bergé), a dyed-in-the-wool left-wing bohemian and a repository of memories and wisdom. When it becomes time to consider their future, the family are forced to make painful decisions about the craft to which they have dedicated their lives.

Notes by David O’Mahony

Screening as part of the IFI French Film Festival, November 15 – 26.