The reviewer for the Minneapolis Star Tribune commented that: " The movie is not quite in the league of his 1995 masterpiece, "Wild Reeds". But it still serves as another gorgeous and immensely satisfying reminder that there are few better directors than Téchiné when it comes to capturing the vagaries of the heart. The script, which the director helped write, is over determined. But the casting is inspired. In many ways, the story is about the spells we allow ourselves to fall under, preventing us from seeing life as it is.