A woman plays piano like her life depends on it—because it probably does.
A troubled young woman who lives alone in a rundown house meanders around and one day reveals a hidden talent when she goes into a bar, plays magnificently at the piano, and leaves as mysteriously as she came. Meanwhile, an unidentified man is on her trail and eventually tracks her down to the bar she had visited. As the dragnet around her closes in, it becomes apparent that the young woman's stepmother is behind the effort to locate her. But questions over why she is hiding out and what she is hiding from begin to take on more importance as the history of the young woman starts to surface.
Acting
Hélène Surgère's haunted, wordless presence carries entire stretches.
Cinematography
Grimy 16mm decay aesthetic that reeks of cheap rent and secrets.
Score
That piano piece—possibly the most tension-packed music in 80s Euro-thriller history.
Director
Noël Simsolo
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Noël Simsolo was primarily a film critic and theorist; this remains his sole feature as director, making it a fascinating one-off from someone who spent his career analyzing cinema.
Released in 1980, this sits awkwardly between the fading French New Wave and the rising American slasher boom—too arthouse for grindhouses, too nasty for the Left Bank set.
FR
