7 years

France's Jean-Pascal Hattu puts a fascinating spin on the love triangle, involving a man jailed for seven years, his wife and his prison guard. Hattu slowly peels away the characters' stony façades. Valérie Donzelli is arresting as the stoic wife, Maïté, while blank-eyed Cyril Troley creates the perfect anti-lover.

AMG: The relationship between a dutiful wife and her incarcerated husband grows increasingly complicated with the arrival of a curious third party in director Jean-Pascal Hattu's emotional take on a most unusual love triangle. Maïté (Valérie Donzelli)'s imposing Mediterranean husband Vincent (Bruno Todeschini) is currently locked-up behind bars. Though the loving wife does indeed visit her jailed husband on a regular basis, her commitment to a monogamous relationship is drawn into question as Maïté slowly becomes involved in an intimate affair with meek prison guard Jean (Cyril Troley). Though initially put off by the advances of the soft-spoken Jean, Maïté soon finds her motherly instincts taking hold as she earns her keep as a part-time babysitter and eventually allows her fragile emotional guard to be broken. When Maïté learns that her newfound lover is recording their encounters for the benefit of Vincent - who has explicitly enlisted the aid of Jean in doing so - the motivations of all three are drawn into question while Maïté weighs her sense of fidelity against her inherent need for sexual gratification. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide