Lux Æterna (2019) Spoiler-Free Summary – What It's About

In a dimly lit soundstage that feels half‑museum, half‑dream, a film about witchcraft is about to begin. The opening flickers with grainy, 1920s‑style footage of a historical trial, instantly setting a tone that blurs documentary rigor with theatrical illusion. From there, the narrative pulls back to a contemporary set where the very act of making a movie becomes its own story, inviting the audience to watch behind the curtain as much as the drama being filmed.

At the heart of this meta‑theatrical playground are two celebrated performers, Béatrice Dalle and Charlotte Gainsbourg, who appear as heightened versions of themselves. As they settle onto a recreated medieval set, they launch into a lively conversation about how witches have been rendered on screen, the weight of gendered expectations in cinema, and the personal anecdotes that have shaped their own careers. Their dialogue, peppered with wit and frankness, establishes a partnership that is both collaborative and sparring, hinting at deeper currents beneath the surface of the production.

The film’s aesthetic is a kaleidoscope of split‑screen compositions, archival quotes from auteurs such as Luis Buñuel, Carl Theodor Dreyer, and Rainer Werner Fassbinder, and a lingering sense that every crew member—producers, assistants, the director of photography—participates in an unspoken contest for artistic dominance. This layered visual and intellectual texture cultivates a mood that is simultaneously reverent of classic cinema and sharply critical of the hierarchies that still govern it.

Within this charged environment, the anticipation of shooting a climactic witch‑burning scene hangs like a fragile flame. The interplay between the actresses’ earnest devotion to their craft, the crew’s relentless quest for control, and the ever‑present echo of cinematic history creates a tension that feels both intimate and universal, promising a meditation on creation, power, and the ghosts that linger on every set.