Le secret

Feb 1 2001 Not Rated 1h 47m
Drama, Romance

Marie, who works as a successful door-to-door encyclopedia salesperson, has been married to her husband Francois for 12 years and has a two-year-old son. Though she is relatively content with her life, she feels something is wanting. Enter 50-year old African-American Bill. Initially she is annoyed by his insouciance, but she finds that she is irresistibly attracted to him. Soon the two are in the midst of sordid illicit affair. She knows little about her new lover, and he seems uninterested in learning about her, but the long sessions of lovemaking are something else entirely. Feeling out of control, Marie is increasingly repelled by her own actions. Psychologically, she struggles to reconcile her torrid encounters with Bill and mundane domestic chores such as bathing her son. Moreover, she finds herself incapable of hiding her adulterous behavior, rather she comes home with scratches and hickeys all over her body, to the devastation Francois.

Plot

Marie is a seemingly happy woman, married to François for twelve years, and with a two-year-old child, Paul. However, there is disagreement within the family, since François is keen to have another child, but Marie is hesitant. During the course of Marie's job as an encyclopaedia saleswoman, she meets Tony, an African-American living in Paris at a friend's villa. Before long they are having an affair. Although horrified to an extent by her own behaviour, Marie makes little attempt to hide the fact from François.

Written by

Virginie Wagon, Erick Zonca

Directed by

Virginie Wagon

Cast

Anne Coesens, Michel Bompoil, Tony Todd

Crew

View crew

Production Countries

France

Production Companies

Les Productions Bagheera

Languages

Français

Awards

2 wins & 2 nominations

Scores
# of Votes
863
Average Rating
6.1 out of 10
Metascore
NA
Popularity
NA