Valeria BRUNI TEDESCHI made a film about her time as an acting student at the Theater des Amandiers. In the 1980s, the theater in Nanterre, located a little west of the Grande Arche in the Paris high-rise district of La Defense, became a center of the theater world that was recognized throughout Europe thanks to the director Patrice CHEREAU (GOLDEN BEAR 2001 for INTIMACY).

So it's no wonder that young acting talents like Stella (CESAR AWARD for Nadia TERESZKIEWICZ) do a lot to be accepted at this school. The training there not only promises early theater fame, but also appearances in the films of the great master Patrice CHEREAU (played superbly by Louis GARREL). Only twelve of the young talents manage to get one of the coveted places. But then the hard work really begins. And also exploitation in the name of noble art! Stella, who grew up extremely wealthy, soon falls for her mysterious classmate Etienne (also controversial in real life: Sofiane BENNACER), who is too violent and too dependent on heroin. But drugs are also an important topic for Master Chereau and the school principal Pierre Romans (played by Micha LESCOT). Of course, for the acting students it's not just about who gets to play what or who in Anton Chekhov's PLATONOV. Abortions, the fear of AIDS and regular emotional crashes accompany the acting students through their nerve-wracking training...

Valeria BRUNI TEDESCHI doesn't actually tell a new story, but the way she tells this story of development makes it clear what it means to get involved in this revealing profession of acting. More than once, as a viewer, you want to turn away out of embarrassment. This film makes it clear to film lovers and theater lovers how precarious and merciless the work of the actors we admire really is. This isn't easy fare, but it does provide an unvarnished insight into what's going on behind the stage, which we don't actually want to know anything about because it would destroy our cherished illusions.

This film, which is worth seeing, is excellently cast right down to the supporting roles. Mention should be made of Vassili SCHNEIDER as another classmate, Bernard NISSILE as Stella's butler and the great Suzanne LINDON (Spring Blossoms), whose performance brings together the entire tragedy of a life in the shadow of art.

Due to the headlines surrounding the main actor BENNACER, this film and the background to its creation have probably not entirely undeservedly fallen into disrepute. Valeria BRUNI TEDESCHI has nevertheless managed to create a deeply touching and, above all, illuminating film about the precarious conditions and psychological dependencies in which great art is still created today.