Verité [Criterion Collection]

In this drama, a beautiful woman stands accused of killing her lover. The prosecutor believes the crime was premeditated and seeks the death penalty. Her story is told via flashback and begins while she lived a free-spirited life upon the Left Bank. She is seen having a fling with her sister's boy friend while still continuing to have numerous encounters with others. The boy friend resents this and they have a terrible quarrel. She then becomes a prostitute and he, a music student, becomes a famous conductor. Later the woman hears that he has proposed to her sister and realizes that she does indeed love only him. She visits his flat and they make love; the next day he tosses her out, telling her she is a slut. The distraught woman decides to kill herself in front of him, but he only laughs derisively. Provoked, the woman shoots him, and then tries to kill herself. Just before she dies, the police come, arrest her, and put her on trial. Afterward, she is firmly convinced the jury will disbelieve the depth of her love because she was a hooker. The deeply disturbed woman then slashes her wrists with shards from a broken mirror.