French director's dramas duel on opposing stages

Being on your own can be beautiful. Imagine sitting on a sunny balcony, cigarette in hand, reading a book by Marguerite Duras as some cool jazz plays in the background.

You thought you were lonely but in those moments you were actually satisfied; alone but not lonely. When people say how much they have enjoyed loneliness, they have probably not been lonely at all.

More often than not, loneliness is a bitter experience. Take a former steel worker called Georges. He felt lost after he retired. Instead of enjoying what might have been a quiet country life, Georges ended up locking himself in a small studio pounding at steel all day in a useless attempt to resume his old way of life.