James himself is paid tribute with a photo lining a chapel wall, as Truffaut synthesized several of the author’s short stories—most prominently, “The Altar of the Dead”—while relocating his movie to 1920s France. In his final onscreen appearance, the director stars as a WWI veteran who keeps a shrine to his late wife but forms a tentative bond with clerk Nathalie Baye. Nestor Almendros’ cinematography was nominated for a César Award.

in French with English subtitles