It pains me to rate this so low—it had so much promise—but this is probably the worst-edited acclaimed film I’ve seen from the ‘80s. Directed by the cinematographer of Possession, staring Isabelle Adjani (as usual playing a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown), pre-20th-century Europe, a story of passion and art... on paper, it’s my favorite thing ever, but it just doesn’t work. It’s like they had a faulty camera mag that wouldn’t let them get any shots over five seconds long. Or maybe their initial cut was six hours long, so they just lopped off half of every shot in post. I don’t know; a poor result either way. A chaotic mess that tires itself out quickly.