The director Ismael is making a story, inspired by his brother Ivan. Meanwhile, he still mourns the death of his wife Carlotta who died twenty years ago. But after a new start with Sylvia, the ghost of Carlotta shows up to him. Sylvia runs away and Ismael rejects Carlotta. In the first half hour, the film comes to a mix of themes including spy genre, melodrama, fantasy, story of a director in crisis of creation. Desplechin irrelevantly blends genres, risking the film stuck betwixt and between. ''Ismael´s Ghost ''is about the obsession of a filmmaker. An artist, realizing that his death is imminent in the film, is Desplechin himself. The film is a bold gambling attempt at directing in many directions and an experiment to try everything possible. it presents an outstanding ensemble of Mathieu Amalric, Marion Cotillard, and Charlotte Gainsbourg. [JANG Byungwon]