A Brother’s Love

Sophia completes a PhD focused on Gramsci, but immediately faces a shortage of teaching positions. She accrues student debt while struggling to find work in academia. The combination of credential and market reality defines the opening pressure of her life.

At 35, Sophia lives rent-free with her brother Karim. She earns a living leading tours at a local art gallery, a job that keeps her connected to the arts world yet leaves her longing for a stable career. The arrangement creates intimacy and tension between siblings.

Sophia discovers she is pregnant and decides to have an abortion. The decision propels her into contact with Eloïse, a Montreal doctor who becomes part of Karim's past. The encounter foreshadows a complex love triangle.

Eloïse recognizes Karim as a man she slept with when she first moved to Montreal. Karim does not seem to remember her clearly, adding uncertainty to their potential renewed connection. They agree to see each other again, setting the stage for future tension.

Following the abortion, Sophia tells Karim he should date a woman like Eloïse. Karim responds by saying he will pursue Eloïse himself, signaling a shift in their dynamic. Sophia feels both betrayed and unsettled by the idea.

Sophia loses her job at the gallery and decides to write a novel instead. The setback becomes a catalyst for creative independence and self-definition. She begins exploring a new form of storytelling.

Sophia returns to Karim's apartment and loudly discusses how she imagined Karim's date with Eloïse went, speculating Eloïse is frigid and shallow. She is startled to realize Eloïse is actually in the apartment. The moment magnifies humiliation and the fragility of their relationships.

Envious and anxious about Karim's growing seriousness with Eloïse, Sophia watches Eloïse as she interacts with Karim. The scrutiny turns into a quiet competition over attention and affection. The atmosphere becomes increasingly tense between the trio.

Eloïse and Karim take Sophia to dinner, and Eloïse brings her best friend Jasmin, a male midwife. Sophia fears she has been lured into a double date. Jasmin challenges Sophia's view of motherhood by claiming that giving birth is the most important event in a woman's life.

The dinner with Karim, Sophia, Eloïse, and their parents escalates into a heated argument about family and overpopulation. Sophia storms out, refuses to apologize, and moves into Jasmin's apartment. The clash deepens the divide between the characters.

Sophia takes a job as a French-language tutor for immigrants in the suburbs and moves into Jasmin's apartment. Later, Jasmin and Sophia become intimate, sharing a night that leaves Sophia rushing to her new job the next morning. She grapples with where to begin anew.

Sophia visits Eloïse in her office to apologize for her earlier behavior. She expresses that she valued her brother's happiness. Eloïse responds with an analogy to atomic theory, suggesting Karim and Sophia share a deep, inherited connection.