A self-centered man (Gérard Depardieu) with many diversions occasionally visits his 4-year-old son (Antoine Pialat) and the boy's mother (Géraldine Pailhas).
Acting
Depardieu at his most infuriatingly authentic—charm and toxicity intertwined.
Direction
Pialat's brutal naturalism makes every scene feel like surveillance footage.

Director
Maurice Pialat
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Antoine Pialat is the director's real son; the swimming pool scene was his first time in deep water, and his genuine fear is visible.
The film extends Pialat's autobiographical project begun in 'The Mouth Agape'—his own father abandoned the family, and this plays like revenge through understanding.