Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg
Concerned about the emotional deterioration of his grieving, glassy-eyed wife, a guilt-ridden therapist attempts to treat her atypical grief on his own. And as the broken-hearted couple seeks answers and closure in the heart of a verdant terrestrial paradise, they embark on a self-therapeutic journey into their darkest fears. Instead, trust invites more pain, entangling the man and the woman into a primitive, four-chapter ritual of unprocessed feelings and profound sadness. But in the absence of the divine, is the catharsis of punishment the highest form of forgiveness?—Nick Riganas