Disparus

The film opens in 1989 as the Soviet world is collapsing and Louise, still mourning a lost lover, discovers the journal of Alfred Katz, a Jewish poet who vanished in 1938. She enlists a history professor to trace his past, and the narrative moves back to feverish prewar Paris where Katz is a fervent Trotskyite and hopeless romantic. At a surrealist party he meets Mila, a model who also sells her body, and he falls for her despite her relationship with Félix, a committed Stalinist. Mila later marries Katz, and what follows is an entanglement of desire, ideology and betrayal that pulls private lives into public danger.

Released in 1998, Disparus was directed by Gilles Bourdos and stars Anouk Grinberg, Grégoire Colin and Xavier Beauvois, among others. The film is rooted in interwar political and artistic milieus rather than a single source text.

Box office details are scarce and the picture did not register as a major commercial success outside France. It circulated mainly in festival and arthouse circuits, reaching a limited audience rather than mainstream markets.

Though not widely known internationally, Disparus is noted for its blunt portrayal of sex, avant-garde art circles and political factionalism, including a charged sequence set at Andre Breton's salon. Those elements make it a reference point for viewers interested in cinematic depictions of surrealism intersecting with leftist politics.

Critical reaction leaned negative to mixed, which is reflected in a modest vote average of 4.0 out of 10. Critics and viewers who responded highlighted strong performances and a rich historical backdrop, while others felt the pacing and narrative focus undercut the film's ambitions. Central themes include the collision of personal desire with ideological commitment and the cost of political divisions on intimate relationships.