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Romy Schneider stares into the void so you don't have to — devastating French ennui incoming.

Watch(FR)

A Simple Story (1978)

quietly devastatingwine-soaked melancholy1970s bourgeois malaise

Overview

A middle-aged woman leaves her partner and drifts back to her ex-husband, while the lives of her middle class friends intersect with her own.

Content warning

divorce extramarital affair pregnancy drama couple

the illusion of choicemiddle-class emptinesswomen's invisibility

Standout Aspects

Acting

Romy Schneider's eyes do more than most scripts.

Direction

Sautet's restraint is a weapon.

Cinematography

Soft 70s palettes masking rot underneath.

Best for:Solo: When you need to feel something but don't know what.·Streaming: Rainy Sunday, existential dread optional but recommended.

Heads up:Emotional: Terminal loneliness, no redemption arc.

Director

Claude Sautet

ReleasedNov 22, 1978

Runtime1h 47m

StatusReleased

Vibe

Paceslow

Intensitymedium

Tonedark

Feelheavy

Top Cast

Romy Schneider

Marie

Bruno Cremer

Georges

Claude Brasseur

Serge

Arlette Bonnard

Gabrielle

Sophie Daumier

Esther

Éva Darlan

Anna

Jacques Sereys

Charles

Madeleine Robinson

La mère

Pierre Semmler

Patrick

Jean-François Garreaud

Christian

Pierre Forget

Le délégué syndical

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Deep Dive

Trivia, insights & behind the scenes

Trivia

Romy Schneider was going through her own messy separation during filming, lending the performance brutal authenticity.

Cultural

This epitomizes 1970s French 'cinéma du look' — bourgeois problems as national obsession.

Gallery

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