BEST OF FESTS

DEUX PIANOS

2025 / 115 min / color

Virtuoso pianist Mathias Vogler returns to his native Lyon after a long period of self-imposed exile in Asia. He’s reunited with Elena, his childhood mentor, who urges him to collaborate on a prestigious concert series to take place in the city’s historic concert hall. But his artistic homecoming is derailed by a surreal encounter in a local park: Mathias meets a young boy who looks exactly like his younger self. The mysterious child leads a bewildered Mathias back to a past love — Claude. Mathias is haunted by the situation; it profoundly affects his already fragile psyche. In his latest work, acclaimed French auteur Arnaud Desplechin brings together a stellar European cast, including François Civil, Charlotte Rampling and rising star Nadia Tereszkiewicz (who has Polish roots). Their sensitive, nuanced performances drive an unconventional narrative where the past and present collide in haunting ways. Desplechin masterfully explores themes of identity, memory, and the strange phenomenon of doppelgängers, staging this intimate drama in the charming and evocative setting of Lyon.