Benoît Jacquot's 'Le Septième Ciel': A Marital Farce with Technical Disconnect

Benoît Jacquot's film 'Le Septième Ciel' (The Seventh Heaven) follows the sentimental and carnal adventures of a couple with an only son. The plot includes a marital crisis, mediation by the good Doctor Faustus, a vaudevillian counterpoint from the mother-in-law, and the husband's malaise, all set against a backdrop of children's tales. These ingredients ultimately resolve in reconciliation. The film's disconnect becomes apparent only during the credits: the sound lags behind the image, and dialogue continues even when there is nothing left to see, as if the film and screenplay are competing.