CLOUDS Of Sils Maria is a rich, layered drama which really gets under the skin of what it is to be defined by a career on the stage and screen.

Juliette Binoche plays Maria Enders, a successful but ageing actor who questions how much longer she will be in the spotlight, and what it means to her, after the sudden death of her mentor.

So she is convinced to revisit the play that made her famous 20 years ago.

Only this time she will be playing the fading character unhealthily obsessed with the beautiful younger woman she portrayed last time.

The film explores the gap that exists between generations as conventions and trends shift.

Clouds Of Sils Maria is powerful because although it is about the world of theatre everyone can relate to the struggle at its heart.

Because the desire to be successful, doubt and fears about the passage of time are pretty universal.

Immortality only exists for characters – not the actors that play them.

What also keeps the film interesting is that life begins to imitate art as the exchanges between Maria and her PA Val (Kirsten Stewart) begin to mirror the play.

Stewart is excellent here – she won the best supporting actress in the César Awards for the role – and she continues to defy her detractors.

The only criticism is that some of the scenes in the film are long and drawn out and some viewers will lose patience with director Olivier Assayas' naturalistic approach.

But it is also beautifully shot with the Swiss Alps providing staggering imagery of how small we all are in the grand scheme of things.

It is a brilliant study of how we deal with things as life shifts around us.