Twenty-year-old Joseph and his sixteen-year-old sister Suzanne live in the merciless conditions of an intemperate foreign land with their widowed mother. Their mother attempts to exert a hold on her children by involving them in the family's run-down rice plantation. However the siblings seek liberation, and look for this in their romantic lives. Suzanne becomes involved with Michael and Joseph finds a love interest in Claude.
| Directing | René Clément | Director |
| Writing | Marguerite Duras | Novel |
| Writing | Diego Fabbri | Screenplay |
| Writing | Irwin Shaw | Writer |
| Writing | René Clément | Screenplay |
| Sound | Nino Rota | Original Music Composer |
| Camera | Otello Martelli | Director of Photography |
| Costume & Make-Up | Maria De Matteis | Costume Design |
| Production | Dino De Laurentiis | Producer |
| Art | Mario Chiari | Art Direction |
| Art | Piero Gherardi | Set Decoration |
| Editing | Leo Catozzo | Editor |
