MARQUISE OF O, THE

Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1976 and directed by Eric Rohmer, the film is set in 1799 during the Russian invasion of Italy. A young widow, The Marquise (Edith Clever) lives with her parents in the fort her father commands. In the midst of battle, the Marquise is abducted by a group of rowdy soldiers and nearly taken advantage of when the Russian commander Count F (Bruno Ganz) rescues her. Later, the Marquise realizes she is pregnant, though she cannot decipher how the circumstance came to be. The Marquise pens a letter to the newspaper announcing that she will marry the father, whomever he may be, should he only present himself.