La Femme Publique, The Public Woman.(1984) 1920... -

By the end, Ethel can no longer distinguish between her real life and the roles she is forced to play, leading to a psychological breakdown. Themes and Style Review: La Femme Publique - Slant Magazine

The story follows (Valérie Kaprisky), an inexperienced aspiring actress who earns a living through nude modeling. Her life takes a dramatic turn when she is cast by Lucas Kessling (Francis Huster), an abrasive Czech émigré director, to star in a film adaptation of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel The Possessed (also known as Demons ).

As production progresses, the boundaries of Ethel's identity begin to dissolve:

Lucas exerts total control over Ethel’s life, pushing her into a state of emotional hysteria to extract a raw performance.