Annie-France Poli

The middle-aged titular heroine (Masiero) of this bare-bones, Dardenne-esque debut has certainly fallen on hard times: Living between her car and a storage shed, working a part-time job as a hotel chambermaid, and trying against all odds to obtain public housing, Louise scrapes by on a day-to-day subsistence that’s only a few Euros away from skid row.

Julie and her parents, Loïc and Louison, make their living fishing on a small island off the coast of Brittany. In order to escape their debts, they are forced to part with their boat in exchange for a scrappage bonus. The family struggles to cope with this new life without a boat, and Julie takes refuge in her passion for the saxophone to overcome the strange feeling of being overwhelmed that gradually takes hold of her...