Une Femme Douce (1969)

From the balcony of her Parisian apartment, a young woman (Dominique Sanda in her film debut) jumps to her death. Her body moved to the bed that she shared with her husband (Guy Frangin), in a series of flashbacks he reflects on their marriage and the events that may have led to her suicide. Based on the short story A GENTLE CREATURE by Fyodor Dostoevsky and directed by Robert Bresson (DIARY OF A COUNTRY PRIEST), his first film in color. I'll be upfront, I'm not a big fan of Bresson's brand of cinematic asceticism. I'm not sure where Bresson's empathy lies, with the husband or the wife. Sanda's enigmatic wife seems to be playing head games with the spouse but her husband is too controlling, stifling her with his "love". It's not a healthy relationship. Still, I found the movie compelling and its mysteries engaging. With Jeanne Lobre.