Alice and Martin (1998 film)

Alice et Martin US title Alice and Martin is a 1998 French film, a psychological drama, directed by Andr Tchin. It stars Juliette Binoche and Alexis Loret. It is Tchins second collaboration with Binoche after the 1985 film Rendezvous. The plot follows the two title characters, Martin, a male model, and Alice, a struggling violinist. Their romance is shattered when Martins troubled past begins to haunt him.

Ten years later, just after his twentieth birthday, Martin flees his home following his fathers death. He disappears wandering across the country side and tries unsuccessfully to drown himself. Martin emerges weeks later at his halfbrother Benjamins apartment in Paris. Benjamin is a struggling actor sharing living arrangements with his best friend Alice, a violinist in a local quintet that specializes in tango music. More outgoing that his younger brother, Benjamin, who is gay, has a close platonic relationship with Alice. Martin finds success quicklywithin weeks he is a highly soughtafter model. Alice is nervous and brittle, harboring her own private grief, the tragic death at age eleven of her gifted sister. At first Alice resents Martins presence in the apartment and she is cold towards him. Though Alice does not like the brooding Martin much, he becomes obsessed with her and starts surreptitiously following her. Alice discovers it and confronts him. She is gradually captivated by his attentions, and the two begin a passionate love affair.Leaving Benjamin behind, Alice accompanies Martin to Granada, Spain, on a modeling shoot. Their happiness is brief. During the trip Martins behavior becomes erratic and he becomes more and more selfobsessed. When Alice reveals she is pregnant, his decline continues. Martin suffers a nervous breakdown and falls into coma. The doctors determine that his condition is psychosomatic. In an effort to restore his health, Alice rents a cabin by the sea in Spains south coast. Martin swims for hours each night, but remains withdrawn. He is haunted by his fathers death. ........

Source: Wikipedia