'' Impossible Object '' , later released as '' Story of a Love Story '' , is a 1973 drama film starring Alan Bates and Dominique Sanda . It was directed by John Frankenheimer with a screenplay by Nicholas Mosley based on his own novel . It was screened at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival , but was not entered into the main competition . Mosley wrote the screenplay at the behest of director Joseph Losey , whose film '' Accident '' was based on an earlier Mosley novel . Dirk Bogarde and Catherine Deneuve had been attached to the film . However , Losey had difficulty financing the film and later fell out with Mosley over '' The Assassination of Trotsky . '' Frankenheimer , looking to make an independent film , took over the project
1973 Cannes Film Festival
1973 Cannes Film Festival
Impossible Object