This wistful yet hold-your-breath tale was the first of two movies for the director with Edwige Feuillère, and, as ever, an Ophüls leading lady has a plum role: Babs, a single mother stuck working as a burlesque dancer. When lost love George Rigaud reappears, she seizes the day, dangerously borrowing money to give the impression that she is living well as the woman that he remembers and she wishes she could still be.

In French with English subtitles