Marguerite Duras

The Long Absence -- Vimeo - Full movie (Quicktime)

The sensual, award-winning story of a French girl's torrid affair with a wealthy, older Chinese man in 1920's Vietnam, and the dramatic consequences it has for both of them.

Restless married couple Maria (Melina Mercouri) and Paul (Peter Finch) take a road trip through Spain with their friend Claire (Romy Schneider). While Paul and Claire carry on a clandestine affair, Maria becomes obsessed with a recent murder in a small town along the way. What begins as a vacation ends as a meditation on tragedy and infidelity in screenwriter Marguerite Duras's adaptation of her novella, directed by Jules Dassin.