The striking Thierry brings her character to nuanced life on screen.

For a Woman, Diane Kurys' semi-autobiographical film, benefits greatly from its intimate nature, in which a woman discovers secrets from her family's past.

There's storytelling vigor here and fine performances, plus some pointed exchanges about the burdens of cultural identity and emotional preservation in the aftermath of immense upheaval.

The 1980s sequences, with their tears and epiphanies, are less vivid and less convincing. An inviting sense of mystery hangs over the events of 1947, Ms. Kurys’s origin story.

The acting is largely irreproachable, but the direction is leaden, and the movie just can’t overcome its clunky framing device and nagging air of inauthenticity.

Visually, Kurys offers a mostly conventional, period-handsome widescreen style, which suits her capable actors just fine. The real drawback, though, is the spoon-feeding frame narrative, which takes away from the urgency.

The end result is itself not especially intriguing.