The Ties That Bind Us

The Ties That Bind Us is a 2024 French-Belgian drama film co-written and directed by Carine Tardieu and starring Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Pio Marmaï and Vimala Pons. It premiered at the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival.

Plot

Cast

Valeria Bruni Tedeschi as Sandra Ferney
Pio Marmaï as Alexandre "Alex" Perthuis
Vimala Pons as Emillia Demetriu
Raphaël Quenard as David
César Botti as Elliott
Catherine Mouchet as Fanny
Marie-Christine Barrault as Sandra's mother
Florence Muller as Marianne
Mélissa Barbaud as Cécile
Production

The film is based on the novel L’Intimité by Alice Ferney. It was produced by Karé Productions, with France 2 Cinéma and Umedia serving as co-producers.

Release

The film had its world premiere at the 81st Venice International Film Festival in the Orizzonti sidebar. It was released in French cinemas on 19 February 2025. In Germany, the film start was on 7 August 2025 with a kick-off at .

Reception

Cineuropa's film critic Fabien Lemercier praised the film, describing it as "charming" and "a delicate, humanist film". Guillemette Odicino from Télérama described the film as "an incredibly delicate chronicle of emotional reconstruction". According to Le Parisien, the film is "a beautifully staged story, very well acted by a small choral cast,... particularly noteworthy for Valeria Bruni Tedeschi's spot-on portrayal of a surly old maid who opens up to life through contact with a child".