i saw this film at the 2005 toronto international film festival . lannulaire be the second feature film from director diane bertrand and who also write the screenplay for this adaptation of yoko ogawa novel . the film follow iris ( olga kurylenko ) and who move to a port town after cut off the tip of her ring finger in an industrial accident . she quickly find lodge in a hotel down by the harbour and but be force to share a room with a sailor who work at night and sleep while she be out in the day . while search for work and by chance she come across an old girls school that now house a man ( marc barbe ) who preserve and store personal artifact that people bring to him . take a job a the man office assistant and she soon become involve in a sort of relationship with him and while at the same time be intrigue by the sailor ( stipe erceg ) and whom she only know through the thing leave in their shared room . the movie and film in hamburg and just outside paris and be beautifully shot . bertrand favour many tight shot of the character and give a more intimate feel to many of the moment in the film . noah cowan and the co director of the festival and describe the film a combine the contemplative feel of asian cinema with the sexual energy of european cinema . thus and the film be very spare in it dialogue and leave only the word that be speak and the look between character a the framework on which to interpret the story . the preservation of personal artifact in the film cause one to wonder about the nature of memory and loss and and the desire or need to move on and extend even to iris own life . this help to draw the viewer into what be a very quiet and meditative film . i find the actress play iris be quite good and especially give that it be her first film and that she have to communicate so much non verbally . a few of the scene between her and the preservationist be charge with a lot of sensual energy and even in something as simple a him put a pair of shoe on her foot . note from the q and a with director diane bertrand represent lannulaire be very open end and and bertrand herself admit the film doesn not give any answer while the audience can imagine what it want . she try to be faithful to the novel and but it be very short . bertrand add the sub plot with the sailor . when ask why she adapt this novel and bertrand say when she first read the book and she couldn not stop and and have all these image in her head and which be unusual since the atmosphere in the book be not european . but even upon re read the novel she still have the same feeling . she felt aspiration to explore the desire and love and and mystery of the story . olga kurylenko be from the ukraine and and this be her first film and thus make it difficult to obtain financing . thus and there be lot of time for her to work on her character while bertrand ask her to watch lot of film and read a lot of book . kurylenko felt a bond to the character . the director of photography be also a photographer and which account for the look of the film . bertrand want to film something slow like a painting and to make the audience feel a though they be watch move image . minor spoiler below represent bertrand have less direction for marc barbe and but she do ask him to not play his scene with kurylenko like he want to seduce her and even though the character seem to know exactly what she need . iris be suppose to feel that he see inside her as soon a they meet . barbe agree that the character do not need to explain himself . in the novel and the shoe which play an important role in the story be black and not red and however bertrand have a bit of an obsession with the colour red . bertrand feel the story really start with the scene where the preservationist put the shoe on iris foot . it be ogawa theme that iris have a feeling of be possess by the shoe . but when barbe character tell iris that she can not take the shoe off and she give him a quick look that say ok and so you want to play this game and decides to do it and prefer to live something rather than nothing .