Plot Summary

The miseries of alcoholism, both for the alcoholic and anyone close to him, are the focus of this routine story about Mathilde, a devoted wife, and her husband Pierre, who is addicted to the bottle. The opening scene is at a New Year's party where Pierre disappears, and Mathilde starts remembering their life together in flashbacks that tell the whole story. Mathilde is ever-suffering, and Pierre is on the whole revolting, so why she hung in there for so long is hopefully made clear in these flashbacks.