Writer Annie Ernaux (Nobel Prize for Literature) and filmmaker Claire Simon’s (icon of European documentary filmmaking) careers have run parallel for the past 50 years. Simon dedicates this film to Ernaux in which French high school students passionately read and discuss the author’s work and the timeless, bold truths it tells. Used to tuning into what young voices have to say (Elementary, 2024), Simon approaches her fieldwork by placing her trust in the spontaneity of the students’ reactions and the power of the texts, into which they breathe life far beyond the reaches of critical-intellectual analysis. An unpretentious audiovisual report that reveals the impact of Ernaux's “flat” (like a knife) writing, challenging preconceived convictions on subjects such as women’s bodies and class conflict. This documentary is all this and more: a reflection on art with the power to expand horizons, infused with the freshness and diversity of the younger generation, and a charming tribute to the influencer she deserves to be.