Paris, 1895. Literary figure Marie de Heredia (Noémie Merlant), is truly madly in love with penniless poet/erotic photographer Pierre Louÿs (Quebec’s Niels Schneider), but she marries poet Henri de Régnier to help with her father’s debt-load. Ultimately, it’s Pierre who will initiate Marie into a world of passionate love and eroticism – a secret romance of clandestine meetings. The lovers transgress conventional late 19th century behaviour...how far can they go?
First-time director Lou Jeunet bases her film on real-life characters documented by erotic photos discovered in French archives. She unfolds a beautiful story of early womens' liberation and infuses it with elegance and tasteful sensuality.