Des mains en or (2023)

François Lecoq (Lambert Wilson), a renowned writer who is soon to be admitted to the Académie Française, is married to Rose (Sylvie Testud), a surgeon who lives only for her work, makes him try all kinds of pain treatments, and socializes only with high society. The successful writer’s personal life is disrupted by severe back pain, and he loses his zest for life. Then, by chance, he meets Martha (Josiane Balasko), a healer who gradually manages to treat his attacks through the magnetism of her hands. As the treatment sessions become routine, a strong friendship grows between the two, who seem to have nothing in common. But the writer eventually recovers completely from his attacks and abandons the woman who made his recovery possible. When Martha, having fallen in love, turns up at a gathering to sing and surprise the writer, everything goes wrong: she is roughly handled and thrown out because she is unknown to all the members of this elite. Embarrassed, surprised, and unsettled, François does not know how to react. During his acceptance speech at the Académie Française, he sees the master of ceremonies trying to hide the fact that his shoelace has come undone. François had long since forgotten how to perform this gesture: he kneels down to retie it, to everyone’s astonishment. Then, through this spontaneous gesture, he suddenly realizes that he owes it to the woman he allowed to be thrown out and humiliated, even though she had brought him back to life and restored his zest for living. He abruptly interrupts the ceremony before the stunned gathering and finds Martha at the restaurant Les Mouettes.