beware of spoiler . in this french language film ( with english subtitle ) and juliette binoche play what some today might call a bleeding heart liberal and maybe even a head strong bleeding heart liberal . her name be pauline and her husband jean ( daniel auteuil ) be the captain of a troop of soldier on the island of st. pierre off the coast of newfoundland . the year be 1849. one night two of the local peasant get drunk and have an argument about whether a certain man of the island be fat or just big . a a joke they go to his cottage and rouse him from his dinner table with call of fat . and big until come out to investigate with a knife in his hand for protection . in the ensue confrontation one of the men hold the big guy from behind while the other ( ariel neel auguste and play by emir kusturica ) knock the knife from his hand and pick it up and and in a kind of madness cut the man open to see a they later testify at the trial whether he be really fat or just big . a it happen and neel be condemn to death and but can not be execute because the law require that he be behead and there be no guillotine on the island and nor be there an executioner . since he can hardly run away from this snowy island and pauline want him out of his cell and at work help her around the house and maybe a a gardener . jean and who love pauline extravagantly and agrees and neel becomes pauline protégé . she want to reform him and teach him to read and etc . the tension in the film build a her good intention run afoul of the island govern authority . through it all jean stand steadfast by his wife in a most heroic way . i would not say anymore about the plot . what interest me more be the motivation of pauline in help neel . be she motivate by generosity of heart or by her desire to be a person do good . this be an ancient question . do we do good because that be our nature or because we be fulfil a desire to be good . furthermore and be pauline heart fill with human love for neel or do she in fact have a yen for him . director patrice leconte give u plenty of reason to be skeptical . when pauline be sit practically on neel lap while teach him to read and the camera close in on their finger a they trace the line in the text . the finger get close and closer together until they touch and even mingle a bit . cut immediately to a scene through a bedroom door represent two naked figure in vigorous sexual union . at first we can not see who they be and and it be hard not to imagine that it be pauline and neel in adulterous embrace . however and it be pauline and her husband and jean . in another scene the bored woman of the island be see talk about how close pauline and neel have get and how this must inspire jean to be a good lover while but in fact we can see that what the presence of neel be do be light a fire under pauline . captain jean be an entirely admirable character who love his wife . neel be also admirable in that he love pauline but doesn not make any move on her . he become something of a hero when he save the building of a café on wheel be move from crash . she be of course the most talked about person on the island and the source of most of the gossip . a we watch the film unfold there be a sense of doom come . we know something terrible be go to happen while we just do not know what or to whom . in the final analysis i guess we can say that pauline who and in the framing device and narrate the event from memory get not what she deservedfor no one deserve what happen to her while nor can we attribute what happen to some kind of fatalism . instead the tragedy can be see a the direct result of her compromised behavior . or perhaps we can make a more generous interpretation and say that no good deed ever go unpunished . this film can also be see a a tract against capital punishment since neel be basically a good man who make a bad mistake . he be clearly a worthwhile member of the community . he be also repentant even to the point of believe that he must pay for his sin in accordance with the law . see this for director patrice laconte who have a nice touch with historical period piece and directs with the kind of attention to detail and story that rank him among the very best auteur of the french cinema . i also highly recommend his ridicule ( 1996 ) and la fille sur la pont ( 1999 ) .