Neel Auguste (played by Kusturica) is condemn to death for a murder on the little island of Saint-Pierre, which was, and still is, a territory of France. The guillotine (commonly called «la Veuve») is the instrument of death in France at that time. But the island doesn't have its «Veuve» and one is to be sent from Martinique. In the waiting, the convict is kept in prison at the captain's (played beautifully by Daniel Auteuil) residence. The captain's wife (Binoche) is convinced that the murderer deserves a second chance and she's working towards that goal. In a typical American-style movie, the two would have fallen in love and ended up in the same bed. But not in this movie where Binoche is shown more as a humanist. I gave it a 9.
Review of Widow of St. Pierre
