Poet-turned-advertising-copywriter Barbie Bichette (Agnès Jaoui) is separated from her husband, alienated from her adult children, bored of her job, and frustrated with her therapist. An encounter with a stranger claiming to be an old friend pushes her over the edge in celebrated writer-director Sophie Fillières amusing, poignant chronical of mental illness, which boasts another marvellous turn from the redoubtable Agnès Jaoui. Fillières was terminally ill during the film’s production, managing to complete photography and, following her death in 2023 at the age of 58, the film was completed by her children, actors Agathe and Adam Bonitzer.

Notes by David O’Mahony.

Screening as part of IFI French Film Festival 2024.