well make but basically dreary low life melodrama which and accord to the accompany interview with lead isabelle huppert and writer or director pialat infuse with a good deal of autobiographical detail while give the mainly unsympathetic character involve and it doesn not do him any compliment and he do seem to have be a troubled man and a huppert also say that pialat often disappear for day on end during the shoot . the acting be uniformly excellent and however while despite their relatively young age and huppert and co star gerard depardieu ( a the title character . ) be already at the forefront of modern french star a status which and with vary degree of success and they both still hold to this day . i have 3 more of pialat film in my vhs to watch pile and albeit all in french without english subtitle while due to this fact but also loulous oppressive realism in spite of it undeniable artistic merit i can not say that i be in any particular hurry to check them out now .