I am enamored by Huppert's performance. Hansen's tale on Nathalie brings a fresh take on how we can relate to change. In the process of syncing our thoughts and actions, are we changing our lifestyle?or we imagine an alternate reality/ cease to relate to reality and move on with hope and passion.

This is a typical French film. One of those films that go flat and more flat that only serve to lengthen the film why you can not or want to make an ellipsis, although what you have to count is already counted. It's too long. I think he wants to tell a number of things but he does not really count anything or everything goes so far as to say nothing. I'll tell you something in the spoiler zone.The actors are very natural, the problem is that I do not know what role they have in the film half of them.Photography is as always in this type of non-existent films. Looks like they used a video camera.The direction, nonexistent for several reasons, if the director does not know that there are so many planes that delay the film, bad. The plans are as if we see a play, general in the foreground, but this is cinema, we must use audiovisual language.I imagine that it will be me, that less and less of cinema.Spoiler:Try to tell us how a couple disarms, but if it was not because they told me they are a couple, I would not have seen it because they could be friends who live together and more if they are people as you design, cultured, intelligent, nice . I should show you before that you are a couple and then see how you disarm. But in reality I only see that it breaks and nothing happens.

The pace of the film is very slow and at times boring. The story is slow to appear and the ending is unsatisfactory. There were some discussions of philosophy which I found murky. The acting and casting seems fine. The plot is that of a middle aged woman who's husband leaves her for a younger woman. She seems not to suspect anything beforehand and we see some of her emotional response. The depiction of the lifestyle of an intellectual family in Paris is interesting but the lives of the two children are poorly developed which, I imagine, is purposeful. The director seems to want a laser focus on the main character, Isabel Hubert. She is a fine actress and plays the part with style.Overall, it is just not enough of a plot, not enough action, to keep the interest of the viewer. I wish we could see more french films here in the USA since I'm a fan of french cinema, in general.

Isabelle Huppert plays Nathalie a woman reaching middle age with a long time marriage and two grown up children. She teaches philosophy at a high school in Paris and life is good. She also enjoys her former students who seem to nurture her in return for the nurturing she gave them.Then her husband announces he is having an affair and is leaving her. With the certitude of familiarity now removed and new possibilities blossoming she has to decide if this is a tragedy or a new beginning and what to make of her life.Now this is just compelling from start to finish all the performances are brilliant. This is one of those films where you feel you are being a voyeur in many respects – it is that well done. The sub stories too are done with such care that they segue seamlessly into the main narrative – rather like the way things do in real life. Huppert is superb (as she always is) Roman Kolinka as Fabien is rather good to and worthy of a mention as he is sort of ambiguous but in a way so contrived that you question whether he actually is. Anyway, in French a bit of German and the ever present English this is an understated gem that will bring much reward to any who should seek it out – recommended.