Isabelle Huppert (The Godmother AF FFF21)) is mesmerising in this gentle, bittersweet and occasionally whimsical film about a most unlikely love triangle between a grieving widow, a potential new romantic partner, and the ghost of the widow’s dead husband. Composed yet fragile, Huppert delivers yet another beautifully-nuanced performance as the widow, Sidonie Perceval, a once highly-acclaimed French author who after a long period of inactivity has reluctantly agreed to travel to Japan to promote a new translation of her debut novel.

Most of her time in Japan is spent in the company of her publisher, Kenzo Mizoguchi (Tsuyoshi Ihara, Letters From Iwo Jima), towards whom she finds herself increasingly drawn despite still mourning her husband. These feelings are further complicated when she is visited by her husband’s ghost (August Diehl, Inglourious Basterds).

An intoxicating blend of melancholy, romance, self-discovery and gentle humour, Sidonie in Japan evokes classic films like Lost in Translation and Truly Madly Deeply, yet stands alone in its delicate treatment of love and loss.