Inspired by three Henry James short stories, this is the story of a World War I veteran who works as an obituary writer at the newspaper. Worshipping his deceased wife, he is obsessed with the dead people in his life and soon intends to build a memorial to all of them.
It is a most demanding, original work and one must meet it on its own terms, without expectations of casual pleasures.
– Vincent Canby,
New York Times,
13 Nov 2007
rotten:
Truffaut is attempting a philosophical disquisition on the presence of the lost, the ways in which the dead remain a part of our lives, but his theme can't escape the morbid eccentricity of his characters.
– Dave Kehr,
Chicago Reader,
13 Nov 2007
rotten:
Truffaut's lack of range as an actor is not helped by the script's purple prose.