Set in Belle Époque France, the story follows nineteen-year-old "hysteria" patient Augustine, the star of Professor Charcot's experiments in hypnosis, as she transitions from object of study to object of desire.
Acting
Soko's physically demanding, haunting transformation—seizures as performance art.
Direction
Winocour's claustrophobic framing turns medical observation into erotic imprisonment.
Cinematography
Candlelit Salpêtrière corridors where shadows leak power and suffocation.
Director
Alice Winocour
Soko
Augustine
Vincent Lindon
Charcot
Chiara Mastroianni
Constance
Roxane Duran
Rosalie
Olivier Rabourdin
Bourneville
Lise Lamétrie
Head nurse of the Salpêtrière
Ange Ruzé
Pierre
Stéphan Wojtowicz
Conti
Grégory Gadebois
Guest at the Charcots’ dinner
Audrey Bonnet
Aimée
Jeanne Cohendy
Servant Mélanie
Jean-Claude Baudracco
Cook of the Salpêtrière
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Soko trained with a contortionist for months to replicate historical 'hysterical seizure' photographs without CGI.
Charcot's actual Tuesday lectures were Parisian society events—patients performed for celebrities including Toulouse-Lautrec. The film barely exaggerates.
FR
