The future

‘Nathalie (Isabelle Huppert) is a philosophy teacher at a Parisian lycée and is very dedicated to her work. On the side, she publishes with a small publishing house. Her husband teaches at university. In their intellectual, middle-class household, their two adult children are just as welcome as her students and her overbearing mother. With her busy daily life, Nathalie has hardly given the future a second thought until now. But one day, her husband reveals that he is leaving her for another woman. Confronted with a sudden freedom that also brings with it loneliness, Nathalie must reinvent herself and her life. With her fifth feature film, Mia Hansen-Løve moves away from the theme of youth and reflects on the onset of ageing in an intense, yet ironic, portrait of a woman. It explores questions of happiness, vocation, and the meaning – or meaninglessness – of established structures. In doing so, the film not only depicts a personal search for new paths, but also asks whether and how philosophy can be applied to everyday life.’ (Berlinale, Feb 2016)