Under the Sand

Marie, an esteemed English professor, has spent 25 blissful years married to her husband, Jean. Their life is depicted as harmonious, centered around their love for each other and their time spent together in a family-owned house in Landes.

On a seemingly normal day, while Marie enjoys the sun, Jean goes for a swim in the ocean. Later, he fails to return, leading to a tragic incident that leaves Marie grappling with uncertainty regarding his fate, as his body remains missing.

In the aftermath of Jean's disappearance, Marie is left with no witnesses or concrete answers about what could have happened to him. This heavy uncertainty burdens her as she begins to question whether Jean drowned or might have taken his own life.

As Marie returns to Paris, she starts experiencing strange visions of Jean. These apparitions suggest that he may still be with her, intensifying her struggle to cope with his absence and deepening her denial of his death.

In her attempt to deal with the grief of losing Jean, Marie embarks on a secret affair. Despite the physical connection, she remains emotionally tied to Jean, unwilling to fully embrace her new relationship.

The police from Landes reach out to Marie with news that a body has been recovered from a fisherman’s net. This revelation adds to her turmoil as she continues to cling to the hope that Jean is still alive.

During a visit to her mother-in-law in a nursing home, Marie finds no sympathy when she expresses her thoughts regarding Jean's possible suicide. Her mother-in-law suggests instead that Jean left Marie out of boredom and for not being able to bear children.

Feeling the need for closure, Marie returns to Landes to confront the local authorities about Jean's disappearance. This journey is pivotal as she seeks to unravel the mystery surrounding his fate and her own emotions.

Upon her return, Marie learns the grim possibility that Jean likely drowned while struggling against the undertow. However, complications arise as authorities struggle to confirm his identity due to significant signs of decay on the body.

Although a genetic test shows a 90% match with Jean's mother and dental records seem to align, the absence of skeletal fractures complicates the identification process. This adds to Marie's frustration and emotional distress.

Determined to confront her fear, Marie insists on viewing the body. Horrified, she struggles to process the human remains, as a wristwatch found on the corpse appears to match Jean's description, yet she adamantly denies any connection.

After the traumatic experience of viewing the body, Marie is haunted by memories of Jean. In a surreal moment on the beach where he vanished, she believes she sees a figure in the distance resembling him, fueling her desperation to find closure.

In a moment fueled by love and grief, Marie runs towards the figure she hopes to be Jean. This act represents her struggle to hold on to the past, even as she grapples with the uncertainty of her present.