On an isolated island in Brittany at the end of the eighteenth century, a female painter is obliged to paint a wedding portrait of a young woman.

56-year-old artist Mindy Alper has suffered severe depression and anxiety for most of her life. For a time she even lost the power of speech, and it was during this period that her drawings became extraordinarily articulate.

A repressed artist receives ritual abuse from those who pass him as he paints portraits in the park. Gradually becoming more frustrated, anger builds up within the artist, leading him to embark upon a quest to gain revenge on all those who have humiliated him.

The great philosopher and intellectual Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz is painted on behalf of Electress Sophie of Hanover. During the portrait sessions, the philosopher and the young painter engage in a passionate struggle for truth in image and likeness, and ultimately for love and death.

In Edo-era Japan, a ukiyo-e artist languishes in his master’s shadow. Creatively stifled, he finds consolation in the company of a prostitute, and becomes entangled in a love triangle. A mystery emerges involving two portraits and the sudden disappearance of the artist Sharaku. Helmed by Cannes-selected director Tatsuji Yamazaki, the film employs kabuki-inspired sequences and stylised sets.

Recently retired accountant Richard Flicker attends a life-drawing class and his world is turned upside down when he encounters free-spirited Amelia, the spitting image of a long lost love from decades ago. Grappling with a troubled home front, Richard flirts with the temptation of this second chance at romance.

A controlling artist is confronted by his model during their live drawing session making him question his views.