The Marquise of O (; ) is a 1976 historical drama film written and directed by Éric Rohmer, based on the 1808 novella of the same name by Heinrich von Kleist. Set in 1799, the film tells the story of the Marquise von O, a virtuous widow, who finds herself pregnant and protests her innocence while possibly deserving to be exiled. The film won the Grand Prix Spécial Prize at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival. Plot The story begins in a tavern in a northern Italian town in the early 19th century, where two men are reading an announcement in the paper by the Marquise of O, a widow, that she is pregnant and wishes the father of her child to present himself in order to marry him. The men are shocked by this announcement because she comes from an excellent family and her father, the Colonel, is in charge of the citadel. The next scene shows the Marquise's father's citadel being overrun by Russian forces during the Napoleonic Wars. In the confusion, the Marquise finds herself about to be raped by a group of soldiers. However, she is saved by the commander of the attack, the Count, who reunites her with her daughters and has her put to bed. Her maid orders poppy seed tea for her to help her sleep. The Count then finishes the attack on the Italians and the Marquise's father, the colonel, has to surrender. When the Marquise awakes, she wants to thank the Count for having saved her, but the troops have left. Her father reassures her that she will have the chance to thank him at a later date. They receive news that the Count has died during a battle because of a chest wound. This upsets the Marquise, who never got a chance to thank her rescuer. She starts to feel strangely and collapses. She has no explanation for this but figures that it is due to her traumatic attack, although it reminds her of being pregnant. The reports of the Count's death turn out to be false, as he appears at the family's house and asks for the Marquise's hand in marriage. They do not immediately give him an answer because the Marquise had previously resolved to not be remarried after the death of her husband and the family agrees that the couple hardly know each other. The Count is very