UCSB Arts & Lectures Fall Cinema 2008 presents the captivating French film The Last Mistress starring actress Asia Argento at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 24 in UCSB Campbell Hall.

Cinema’s premiere provocateur and director of the films Romance and Fat Girl, Catherine Breillat tells the story of Ryno de Marigny, a penniless rogue who shocks 19th-century France with his engagement to the virginal gem of the aristocracy.

As lurid speculations of a 10-year affair manifest, a supremely erotic and wickedly humorous depiction of human lust is revealed — overriding the brittle façade of nobility and reverence. The Los Angeles Times calls The Last Mistress “an extreme cinematic pleasure, a well-told yarn of merciless desire.”

Tickets are $6 for the general public and $5 for UCSB students, who must show a valid ID at ticket purchase and upon admission to the film. For tickets or more information, call UCSB Arts & Lectures at 805.893.3535 or purchase online at www.artsandlectures.ucsb.edu.

Meghan Henry is senior writer and publicist for UCSB Arts & Lectures.