Artémis, cœur d’artichaut 2013

In an opening sequence, the film’s director speaks as an omniscient guide, explaining that the central character was chosen by drawing names from a hat. The name that came up was Artemis, Frédérique Barré a goddess from Greek mythology, and the director sets himself up as the all-seeing Narrator who occasionally steps in to nudge the characters toward certain actions.

Artemis is the daughter of Zeus and the twin sister of Apollo, a 23-year-old literature student at the University of Caen Normandy. She crosses paths with Kalie Steaux, Noémie Rosset, an exuberant performing arts student who is looking for a roommate, and Artemis invites her to live in her apartment. Artemis is openly misanthropic and wary of meeting boys, a temperament that sits in sharp contrast to Kalie’s sunny, outgoing energy.

After a few weeks, the pair set off on a road trip together. They narrowly avoid arrest for illegally camping on a beach, but Artemis uses a pendant to summon lightning that frightens the police away. Fernando, a young man Artemis had approached after Kalie pressed her to socialize, invites them to a concert at a bar and a party in Cherbourg. Artemis attempts to converse with Fernando but excuses herself and spends two hours in the bathroom; when Fernando tries to seduce her, she transforms him into a stag.

Artemis returns home alone and settles in to watch a film on her laptop. The narrator explains that she is a virgin and admires the women in Howard Hawks’ films—the subject of her thesis—because they wield charm as a weapon against men. Kalie returns and slips into bed with Artemis, leaving the final image to linger on their complicated, intimate dynamic and the ways myth, cinema, and personal desire intersect.