A Christine Pascal film

ADULTERE MODE D'EMPLOI

Starring: Richard Berry, Karin Viard, Vincent Kassel

Drama

At the age of 20, Christine made her debut as an actress in Bertrand Tavernier's "Watchmaker From St. Paul." Later on, she played in Tavernier and Waida's movies and, at the age of 26, she directed her first film, "Felicite," in which she also starred as the leading lady.

Shortly after "Adultere" was completed, Christine was taken to a mental hospital, where she committed suicide in 1996.

Actress Karin Viard, who played the key role in "Adultere", also had before her an equally controversial destiny. Born in Provence, she dreamed of becoming an actress and went to Paris at the age of 17. By then, she was a qualified stenographer and a graduate of the Rouen Conservatory. With great difficulty, she began her artistic career, taking on ad hoc roles. Her triumph came with Jeunet Caro's film, "Delicatessen." But psychologically, she was not prepared for such a rip-roaring success and suffered a nervous breakdown. She needed time to understand that her dream had come true. Later, as she says, she managed to regain her composure and acquire a kind of balance between her real self and her public image. She starred in Mathieu Kassovitz's and Nicole Garcia's films and said this was her "second wind."

"Adultere" is an intellectual essay, featuring 24 hours in the life of a married couple, squashed in the hustle and bustle of a big city, and trying to give an answer to the age-old problem of a gap between the sexual desires of men and women. Remarkably, being an intellectual movie, "Adultere" is not in the least bit boring. It provides food for thought and will be a feast for your eyes!

The following is an excerpt from Christine Pascal's interview:

"For a man, adultery is nothing more than a sexual 'dainty dish.' A woman first composes a story, in which she believes and which inspires her own infatuation. In sex, a woman prepares a delicious dish for herself. But why put your feelings to the test and what's the use of a throbbing heartbeat if it is often no more than the consummation of a sexual desire. What could be more simple?"

"Adultery contains so much of a feminine unintentional pretence! It is so desirable to make adultery a more significant event than it really is. Apparently, men who get infatuated lose interest in the object of their infatuation as soon as they score. And they always find a way to emerge unscathed, if the situation becomes too complicated. But when a woman succeeds in taking something from a man she takes it all."