Isabelle Guiard

One woman's conflicting emotions and the whims of fate prevent her from being faithful to the man she loves in this drama. In 1939, Jeanne (Emmanuelle Beart) marries Louis (Daniel Auteuil) shortly before he is called to duty during World War II. Jeanne does not deal well with loneliness, and she takes many lovers after Louis is declared Missing In Action. In 1944, Jeanne receives word that Louis is alive, incarcerated in a P.O.W. camp. When Louis is released and returns home, he learns of her scandalous behavior; he forgives her for her infidelities and offers to give her freedom, but Jeanne chooses to remain in the marriage. Several months later, Jeanne gives birth to twins; while Louis is not convinced that he's the father, he loyally accepts them as his own. Louis takes his wife and children to Berlin, where to his disappointment, Jeanne becomes smitten with Mathias (Gabriel Barylli), a successful businessman. Before long, Louis is once again sent into battle, this time in Indochina. Jeanne returns to France, and Mathias opts to go with her; both Louis and Mathias remain faithful to Jeanne, and when Louis is made a military attaché to Damascus, Mathias once again follows her. Une Femme Francaise) reunited Emmanuelle Beart and Daniel Auteuil, who previously co-starred in the acclaimed French drama Un Coeur en Hiver. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Amandine Aurore Lucie Dupin, better known in the literary world as George Sand, not only took a man's name, but trotted around wearing pants and smoking cigars in public. No great shakes today, but in the 1800s she was perhaps the most famous (or infamous) woman in the world. One of the first original celebrities, aside from her garb and literary output, she was known to inspire many duels and broken hearts among other famous hedonist artists. One character describes her in Impromptu, as "that graveyard." The film engages in a sexual roundelay among Sand's (Judy Davis) many friends -- Eugene Delacroix (Ralph Brown), Alfred DeMusset (Mandy Patinkin), Franz Liszt (Julian Sands), and Frederick Chopin (Hugh Grant). The entire crew heads off to the summer estate of the Duke and Duchess d'Antan (Anton Rodgers and Emma Thompson), invited there by the culture-vulture hosts. Sand takes a bead on the sickly Chopin and spends her time throwing herself at him. Also on hand is Liszt's mistress Marie d'Agoult (Bernadette Peters) and Felicien Mallefille (Georges Corraface), Sand's recently jilted lover. Mallefille is jealous of any of the other guests who glance in Sand's direction and continually challenges them to duels. Marie, on the other hand, is enlisted by Sand to deliver a note to Chopin. But Marie, jealous of Sand, delivers the note substituting her name for Sand's. And as the weekend continues, the sexual merry-go-round continues at full tilt. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide