Premiering in competition at the 79th Cannes Film Festival is one of this year’s French entries, and this new film from Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet, one of several female directors in this year’s lineup , is a strong portrait of the many facets of one woman’s life — which may well be why that has become the English title of the original French La Vie D’Une Femme. We get snapshots of a busy life unfolding as this woman faces some key changing moments that will define herself, professionally and personally. Bottom line: it is refreshing to see a fiftysomething female character presented in such a fashion — sexually and otherwise — on screen these days, even if it may only be a very French thing to do.

Plotwise, Gabrielle ( Léa Drucker ) is a 55-year-old professional, a surgeon and head of her hospital department whose career has her stretched to the limit. This takes a toll on every aspect of her life. Her husband Henri (Charles Berling) feels neglected.…