Orphan

Adèle Exarchopoulos,Jonas Bloquet,Gemma Arterton,Nicolas Duvauchelle

Divided into four significant periods of her life--childhood, puberty, adolescence, and adulthood--four different instances in a woman's life represent fragments and diverse aspects of her existence. Renée, an emotionally damaged teacher committed to educating underprivileged youth, wants to start a family to get her life back on track. However, her past returns with a vengeance when addicted gambler Tara re-emerges after seven years of absence to tie up loose ends. Taking a step back in time, Sandra, a careless woman in her twenties, crosses paths with grizzled professional gambler Lev at the racecourse. But as the financially challenged lady accepts to carry bet money to the cashiers as a "mule", Sandra's complicated life takes a dangerous turn. Further back in time, precocious teenager Karine looks for attention in all the wrong places. As a result, she mistakes the merry-go-round of parties and superficial relationships for normalcy. A long way back, a game of hide-and-seek turns into a disaster, leaving innocent country girl Kiki changed forever. And as the fractured portrait of four interconnected stories depicts the soul of a fearless woman, the essence of a complex individual determined to find freedom comes to light.—Nick Riganas