A magnificent exercise in form from Rivette. The use of a small number of quickly familiar locations (the girls’ house, the café and the theatre) imbues many scenes with a deep sense of homeliness and belonging, whilst the repeated shots of empty trains rushing through the Parisian night elude to something sinister yet ever-present running parallel to this cosy little world. 

The narrative offers a lot to unpack, too much to accurately decode after only a single viewing. The film’s…