Chantal Akerman is a respected experimental filmmaker of long
standing, but her latest, an updated adaptation of Proust's La
Prisonniere filtered through Hitchcock's Vertigo, probably won't
win her new admirers. Simon (Merhar) is a wealthy Parisian embroiled in
a strange relationship with Ariane (Testud). Consumed with jealousy
about a lesbian relationship she may be having, he dedicates himself to
following her obsessively around the city in a bid to discover the
truth. It's a slow, turgid essay on obsessive desire and
unknowability; characters are flattened ciphers and performances
are uninflected, Bresson style. You could find your patience
stretched.
