Writer-director Raoul Ruiz's dreamlike tale spins inside the head of a dying Marcel Proust (Marcello Mazzarella) as the French author floats through a world of flashbacks and fantasies while struggling to remain conscious and complete his novel. Characters from Proust's works pop in and out between surreal memories and stream-of-consciousness thoughts, with World War I ever present. John Malkovich and Catherine Deneuve also star in this drama.