The films of Patrick Ledoux (born 1934) are notable for, among other things, their musical soundtracks which use either classical or modern music, sometimes composed by Ledoux himself, who has a distinguished musical background.
“Berthe is a free adaptation of a story by Maupassant. Although Ledoux respects the period atmosphere of the tale (the second half of the Eighteenth century), he has placed it in a more modern context. Berthe is a young woman who was traumatised by an event in her childhood, and she lives locked in her room, silent and alienated. One day, a doctor decides to re-establish contact between her and other people. But he treats her as though she were one of Pavlov's dogs, and after an ‘arranged' marriage to a dissolute individual, she suffers a second crisis and is once again locked up. This difficult story is translated to the screen in a very pure, introspective way. Claire Wauthion acts splendidly in a virtually silent role....” --Paul Dalvay, “1978 International Film Guide”