Hold Me Tight (Serre moi fort)

Directed by Mathieu Amalric (France, 2021, 97 min.). French with English subtitles.

Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread, Bergman Island) gives another riveting performance as Camille, a woman on the run from her family for reasons that aren’t immediately clear. Widely renowned as an actor but less well known in the US for his equally impressive work behind the camera, Mathieu Amalric’s sixth feature directorial outing—his most ambitious to date—is a virtuosic, daringly fluid portrait of one woman’s fractured psyche. Alternating between Camille in her adventures on the road and her abandoned husband, Marc (Arieh Worthalter), as he struggles to take care of their children at home, Amalric’s film is a richly rewarding, moving, and unpredictable portrait of grief.

“It is a true artistic accomplishment.... Krieps’ performance is a standout in its profound, elegiac devastation—one not seen since Juliette Binoche’s turn as a grieving woman in Krzysztof Kieslowski’s Three Colors: Blue.” —Paste Magazine

Watch the trailer.