Maelström

Maelström (2000) is a Canadian French-language drama from director Denis Villeneuve, and you can watch it online on iFILM. Made long before Arrival or Dune, it's an 87-minute portrait of a woman whose life cracks open after a single reckless decision.

Bibiane is 25, runs a fashion boutique, and drives home drunk one night after an abortion. She hits a man and keeps going. The guilt doesn't announce itself loudly — it just starts pulling everything apart. Then she meets Evian, a stranger connected to the accident in a way she doesn't yet understand. The whole story is narrated by a fish on a cutting board. Not a metaphor. An actual fish.

Marie-Josée Croze plays Bibiane in a role that carried the film to the Berlin International Film Festival in 2000. It's Villeneuve at his most uncategorizable — somewhere between fable and raw drama. Watch Maelström online on iFILM.