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A woman finds herself compelled to help someone who isn't so sure she wants to be helped in this drama. Isabelle (Marion Held) is a woman in her mid-forties whose marriage recently came to an end. While doing some shopping at a drugstore, Isabelle is confronted by Mado (Dominique Marcas), a proud but not terribly stable woman who needs the assistance of others, but dislikes any perceived limits on her independence. Isabelle is sympathetic enough to help walk Mado home, and discovers the older woman is living in poverty and filth. At once appalled by her living conditions and moved by her meager circumstances, Isabelle stops by every once in a while to help Mado however she can, and as her visits become more frequent, she finds herself growing closer to Mado. Mado, however, is torn between feelings of gratitude and resentment toward Isabelle. Shot on digital video equipment to stretch its low budget, Rue De Retrait was financed out of pocket by its writer and director Rene Feret, who also appears in a supporting role. Feret's screenplay is based on a short story by Doris Lessing.