The third in a trilogy, with Mon Oncle d'Amérique and Life Is a Bed of Roses, written by Jean Gruault, Love Unto Death goes farther than its predecessors in exploring what Variety's Ron Holloway. called "the rigor and ascetics of love," in a style that moves ever closer to magic realism. In the rocky hinterlands of southern France in the town of Uzès, an archeological dig is in progress, led by Simon (Pierre Arditi). Simon has begun a love affair with Elizabeth (Sabine Azéma) but it is transformed by an encounter with death. Having heard death's siren song, Simon is drawn inexorably back to that experience, and Elizabeth can either follow or stay behind. Two friends, Jérôme and Judith (André Dussolier and Fanny Ardant), married clerics, counsel the couple on their bizarre plight. One can hear echoes of Cocteau, of Bergman; one thinks almost of Woody Allen, but this is simply Resnais, experimenting, evolving, along with his characters. "Sparse but rewarding...a major work of contemporary European cinema." (Variety)