MARTHA...MARTHA

One woman's instability begins to take a toll on her loved ones in this drama. Given to severe mood swings and poorly considered snap judgements, Martha (Valerie Donzelli) is hardly an ideal mother to her six-year-old daughter Lise (Lucie Regnier), and while her husband Reymond (Yann Goven) is loving and sympathetic, he isn't sure what to do for her. Reymond makes a meager income selling used clothing at a flea market, and Martha is hard put to support the family's budget on what he earns. Martha has a checkered past and a less than cordial relationship with her family, and when he decides to visit her parents, they coldly tell her they were hoping her sister Marie (Lydia Andrei), currently living in Spain, had stopped by instead. Stung by the incident, Martha decides she wants to talk to her sister, and she drags Reymond and Lise along for a Spanish vacation they can ill afford. As it turns out, Marie and her husband Juan (Javier Cruz) aren't much happier to see Martha than her parents were, and a night out at a restaurant turns into a bitter quarrel when Martha's neuroses get the better of her. After the incident, Martha goes missing for a few days, and upon her return Reymond learns that Martha allowed herself to be picked up by a pair of strange men -- and was forcibly violated for her troubles. Martha ... Martha was screened as part of the Director's Fortnight series at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi