The subject of study becomes the object of desire.
Alice Winocour has based her first feature on the true story of Augustine, one of the most famous patients of the eminent clinician Professor Charcot, who was committed to the Pitié-Salpêtriere Hospital in Paris in 1873. Augustine suffers from hysteria, a mysterious illness symptomatic of the rigidity of Western society at the turn of the century. This film offers an unbiased depiction of the limitations of Professor Charcot's studies, which were based on hypnosis and the submission of his patients, set against a backdrop of the hostile, frightening world of the Pitié-Salpêtriere Hospital.
For more information about the film, take a look at the interview with Alice Winocour and the trailer for Augustine.
