Back to trending
Heartstrings

Heartstrings

Drama · Comedy · 2016

A talented cellist, Marie, is secretly losing her sight due to a degenerative eye disease. Determined to attend a prestigious music school, she strikes a pact with her struggling classmate Victor: she’ll help him with his homework if he becomes her “eyes,” helping her hide her condition as she prepares for the entrance exam. As the two grow closer, their arrangement begins to change both of their lives.

Movie details

Heartstrings

2016 Drama · Comedy 1h 25m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.4 / 10

Community rating

A talented cellist, Marie, is secretly losing her sight due to a degenerative eye disease. Determined to attend a prestigious music school, she strikes a pact with her struggling classmate Victor: she’ll help him with his homework if he becomes her “eyes,” helping her hide her condition as she prepares for the entrance exam. As the two grow closer, their arrangement begins to change both of their lives.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Heartstrings?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Orchestra Class

Orchestra Class

Drama · 2017

A violinist looks to inspire his students at a challenging music school.

A Man in a Hurry

A Man in a Hurry

Comedy · 2018

The story revolves around Alain, a busy businessman who is always in a rush. In his life, there is no room for spare time or family. But one day, he suffers a stroke, which makes him lose his grasp of language and use one word in place of another.

And the Party Goes On

And the Party Goes On

Drama · 2023

In Marseille, Rosa, 60, dedicated her life to family and politics with the same sense of duty. Everyone considers her unwavering, until the day she falls in love with Henri. For the first time, Rosa is afraid to commit. Between the pressure of his family, politics and a desire to indulge in her feelings, the conflict is difficult to sustain.

A Real Job

A Real Job

Comedy · 2023

Benjamin is a PhD student without scholarship support. Under the pressure of his parents, and in need of money, he becomes a substitute teacher in a middle school. Without training nor experience, and facing a declining public educational system, he discovers how tough this job can be. Hopefully, his supportive and committed colleagues will lead him to take a fresh look at the profession.

The Thieving Magpie

The Thieving Magpie

Drama · 2025

Maria, who's not as young as she used to be and who helps people older than her, is living from hand to mouth. She can't quite accept her precarious situation and steals a few euros here and there from all those lovely people she looks after with such devotion, and who adore her for it… But after an accusation of abuse of a vulnerable person, Maria winds up in police custody.

Uranus

Uranus

Drama · 1990

After World War II, a small French village struggles to put the war behind as the controlling Communist Party tries to flush out Petain loyalists. The local bar owner, a simple man who likes to write poetry, who only wants to be left alone to do his job, becomes a target for Communist harassment as they try and locate a particular loyalist, and he pushes back.

Under the Stars of Paris

Under the Stars of Paris

Drama · 2021

Christine’s life has not been easy lately. Her lonely routine is divided between free food banks distributions and wandering the streets. On a cold winter night she founds Suli, an 8-year-old Eritrean boy, sobbing in front of her shelter. Christine understands that he is lost and has been separated from his mother. Bounded by their marginal condition, they embark together on an emotional journey to find Suli’s mother in the underground world of Paris...

I’m Going Home

I’m Going Home

Drama · 2001

The comfortable daily routines of aging Parisian actor Gilbert Valence, 76, are suddenly shaken when he learns that his wife, daughter, and son-in-law have been killed in a car crash. Having to take care of his now-orphaned grandson, he struggles to go on with his lifelong acting career like he's used to. But the roles he is offered -- a flashy TV show and a hectic last-minute replacement in an English-language film of Joyce's Ulysses -- finally convince him that it's time to retire.

Macadam Stories

Macadam Stories

Drama · 2015

Improbable encounters bring tenderness, laughter and compassion to a world of urban alienation.

Open at Night

Open at Night

Drama · 2017

One night to change everything. One night to save a theater, one night to change one's perspective about life. Luigi will push and pull Faeza with him everywhere around Paris an entire night to save his theater.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Michel Boujenah

Written by

Michel Boujenah

Charles Berling

Charles Berling

Le père de Marie

Pascal Elbé

Pascal Elbé

Le père de Victor

Alix Vaillot

Alix Vaillot

Marie

Jean-Stan du Pac

Jean-Stan du Pac

Victor

Antoine Khorsand

Antoine Khorsand

Haicam

I

Illan Levi

Etienne

Vincent Taloche

Vincent Taloche

Mr. Azra

Court is in session

Put Heartstrings on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.