Laurence Bourdil

Matou is an innocuous, gentle-looking man. He is married to a formidable, even a frightening woman, who is as dissatisfied with him as he is with her. He knows everything there is to know about restoring and authenticating manuscripts, particularly ancient ones, through his job at the museum. One day, it occurs to him that his skills could be put to use in a more personal way, and he embarks on a private career of re-arranging the documents of people who have had the misfortune to be married to the wrong people.

A former hero of the French anti-Nazi resistance is approached by old comrades to lead a financially struggling liberal newspaper. Initially reluctant, she takes on the challenge, mortgaging her house to keep it afloat. As conservative forces intensify their opposition, she is eventually forced to sell the paper, seeing it as a personal failure.

An adaptation of Joseph Conrad's first novel, taking us to the Malaysian mangrove forests against a backdrop of colonial decadence.