Maddened by His Absence

Jacques lost his son in a car accident and left his wife, and now, several years later, he returns to France to attend his father's funeral. He meets his ex-wife with the family including her son, and establishes a truly peculiar relationship with the boy. Sandrine Bonnaire is an actress that introduced herself as a director with a documentary about her own mentally challenged sister. Her feature debut confidently encompasses a study of characters, psychological drama, and a chilling thriller. It focuses on subtle dramas of human expressions, and its minimalist direction and elegant camera movements create a remarkably tense film in a very limited space, where, nevertheless, matters of big importance take place. (Febiofest)