Dir. Leos Carax, 1986, 116 min.
With Michel Piccoli, Juliette Binoche, Denis Lavant, Julie Delpy
In French with English subtitles

In a futuristic Paris, people are dying from a mysterious sexually transmitted disease, STBO, contracted by people engaging in emotionless sex. While an antidote exists, it remains locked away. A woman known as the American hires Marc (Michel Piccoli) and his associate Alex (Denis Lavant) to steal it.

Nominated for a Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival and three César Awards—Best Actress (Juliette Binoche), Most Promising Actress (Julie Delpy), Best Cinematography (Jean-Yves Escoffier)—this drama-packed neo-noir explores the grand themes of life and love within a dystopian landscape where sex has been uncoupled from passion.

“Carax’s most purely delightful work … Bittersweet, haunting, and as original and eccentric as homage movies get, infusing arch neo-Godard poetics with grace notes cribbed from Griffith, Chaplin, and Cocteau.” — Village Voice

“A Godard-meets-Chaplin-via-D.W. Griffith caper film.” — The New York Times