Ismael's Ghosts

Carlotta (Marion Cotillard) ran away twenty years ago. Twenty-one years later, she is back, all of a sudden. However, Ismael (Mathieu Amalric) has been busy rebuilding his life with Sylvia (Charlotte Gainsbourg) after Carlotta left and he is now working on his next feature film. Ismael's problems and tribulations unfurl at the same times as his film's protagonist's, the reckless Ivan Dédalus (Louis Garrel), a diplomat. The character is the brother of Paul Dédalus, a nod to the gost of one of his characters from 'My Sex Life or How I Got Into an Argument', 'A Christmas Tale' and 'My Golden Days'.

It's a film within a film, with narratives upon narratives. The director returns to the past, stepping back in time and proving at the same time that his genius lies can find light in the darkest places.