ESTHER KAHN Desplechin Retrospective

A sullen 19-year-old improbably rises from her immigrant family’s sweatshop to play the lead in Hedda Gobler. This mesmerizing period drama confounds expectations at every turn. Modeled on Truffaut’s THE WILD CHILD, Desplechin’s sole English-language film explores the inherent artifice of acting. It was crowned film of the year by Cahiers du Cinema and based on a short story by symbolist scholar Arthur Symons.