On January 31, 1857, the French writer Gustave Flaubert (1821-80) took his place in the dock for contempt of public morality and religion. The accused, the real one, is, through him, Emma Bovary, heroine with a thousand faces and a thousand desires, guilty without doubt of an unforgivable desire to live.
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
 Natalia DontchevaSelf - Narrator (voice) | Self - Narrator (voice) |
| VVincent SacripantiSelf - Narrator (voice) | Self - Narrator (voice) |
| TTiago Gomes RodriguesSelf - Playwright | Self - Playwright |
| CCatherine MilletSelf - Writer | Self - Writer |
 Jacques RancièreSelf - Philosopher | Self - Philosopher |
 Karl Ove KnausgårdSelf - Writer | Self - Writer |
 Mario Vargas LlosaSelf - Writer | Self - Writer |
| RRégis JauffretSelf - Writer | Self - Writer |
 Nathalie SarrauteSelf - Writer (archive footage) | Self - Writer (archive footage) |
 Maurice NadeauSelf - Writer (archive footage) | Self - Writer (archive footage) |
 Julian BarnesSelf - Writer (archive footage) | Self - Writer (archive footage) |
 Isabelle HuppertSelf - Actress (archive footage) | Self - Actress (archive footage) |
 Mia WasikowskaSelf - Actress (archive footage) | Self - Actress (archive footage) |
 Sophie BarthesSelf - Filmmaker (archive footage) | Self - Filmmaker (archive footage) |
 Jean RenoirSelf - Filmmaker (archive footage) | Self - Filmmaker (archive footage) |