A theater director is captivated by an actress during an audition. By Roman Polanski.

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Just about to leave the theater, after a round of auditions by no-talent actresses vying for the lead in his production adapted from a novel by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch (the original "masochist"), a disappointed director finds himself being talked into seeing just one more actress, who has arrived late due to bad weather. She turns out to be exuberant but cheap, uneducated, done up in an S&M costume and swearing like a sailor. The director is speechless on two fronts: first because of her level of vulgarity and then again as the fury morphs into an innocent 18th century lady once she’s onstage. Captivated by her talent, the director lets himself be pushed around by this flamboyant actress as they rehearse scene after scene. She takes over the direction as he loses complete control, while at the same time taking extreme pleasure at being dominated. Just like the lead character in the novel by Sacher-Masoch...

This piece of praise to women is fantastic, wonderful, intelligent without being elitist, and not vulgar despite its subject. Director Roman Polanski seems to get a masochistic kick out of making fun of artists by directing an actor – Mathieu Amalric, who looks like he sprang out of Polanski’s own mirror – playing a director who gets pleasure from being dominated by an actress in latex, played by Emanuelle Seigner, who just happens to be Polanski’s wife. A new triumph from a director who’s 80 years young, and who is the only director in history ever to deliver at least one masterpiece every decade for 50 years. It deserves a standing ovation!