Annie Ernaux returns to Rouen to sign copies of her latest book, a return that takes her back to the summer of 1958, when she was seventeen. Growing up in a Catholic family in the French countryside, she breaks free and takes a job as a counselor at a summer camp, determined to push her boundaries.
But among the other counselors, she stands out for her innocence and soon becomes the target of the older head counselor, who seduces her.
Her first sexual experience is anything but tender. The shame surrounding it continues to shape her identity for decades.
Director Judith Godrèche brings Ernaux’s autobiographical novel to the screen, with her own daughter, Tess Barthélemy, delivering a powerful performance in the lead role.