Anna Sigalevitch

Art Dealer follows a Jewish woman who embarks on a journey to recover family paintings stolen by the Nazis; and discovers some family secrets are best kept hidden.

Laura (Déborah François) is struggling to make ends meet while studying, despite holding down a part-time job. Desperate for cash, she answers an Internet ad: Joe, 57, seeks female student for tender moments. But what should have been a one-off becomes a downward spiral as Laura grows gradually more reliant on her illicit second income, finding herself in a new bed every night.

Erika is a music teacher in Vienna living a hermetic, love-hate existence with her overbearing mother, escaping only to visit porn cinemas and peepshows. When she meets clean-cut, charismatic student Walter, Erika’s carefully calibrated lifestyle is threatened. Control trades hands between student and teacher, as Erika’s masochistic tendencies are inflicted upon Walter during a torrid affair.

For the second feature to be shot outside of his native Taiwan, Hou Hsiao-hsien ventured to Paris for this lyrical masterpiece. Starring Juliette Binoche, and captured in swooning tracking shots by cinematographer Lee Ping Bing, The Flight of the Red Balloon is a work of warm and delicate wonder.