The Story of Marie and Julien (Histoire de Marie et Julien)

Middle-aged Julien lives alone with his cat. He dreams of Marie, and a few minutes later, he sees her on the street and makes a date. He asks her to move in with him, and she does. Her boyfriend is dead, the rest of her past a mystery. Although they quickly seem to fall in love, she sometimes pulls away suddenly from him, is distant, and spends the night in a hotel. She also dreads something imminent and warns him that if he missteps, he will lose her and all memory of her. He responds by digging into her past: what explains her remodeling an upstairs garret room, her nightly dreams, her fears? What can he, now desperately in love, do when he learns why? Can either rescue the other?