French novelist Marguerite Duras (Hiroshima Mon Amour) directs this elliptical, minimalist film about the domestic space of women, in which dull rituals mask an undercurrent of lurking violence. Jeanne Moreau (Jules and Jim) and Lucia Bose (Story of a Love Affair) costar as two friends who worry about the violent behavior of Bose's daughter, discuss the immigration status of their housekeeper, and contemplate news about escaped convicts as they do the morning dishes. A young Gerard Depardieu appears as a door-to-door salesman, mistaking their nonchalance as an invitation to linger. A precursor to the work of Chantal Ackerman and Claire Denis, Nathalie Granger is a landmark of women's cinema. "...the ghost of Pinter's wit walks over the grave of the film" (Vincent Canby, The New York Times ).

Marguerite Duras---France---1973---79 mins.