The Unburdening (1983) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

Release, runtime and language

1983 · 78 mins · French

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Directed by

Marcel Schüpbach

Starring

Hanns Zischler, Serge Avédikian, Anne Caudry, Roland Amstutz, Anne-Marie Blanc, Nicole Roüan

In this surreal, overstated black‑and‑white work directed by Marcel Schuepbach, a young woman confined to her grandmother’s quiet country house becomes increasingly unhinged by a yearning for a more passionate life. Her grandmother, haunted by the memory of her own daughter who lost sanity and died beside her lover’s grave, sees frightening parallels in the granddaughter’s descent, amplifying the film’s melancholy tension.