"When you start distributing more licenses without consideration of those who have paid significant amounts for them in the past, it's really not fair, " said Marilou Halvorsen, president of the New Jersey Restaurant Association, a trade group.

WSJ: Town Centers Seek Another Shot at a Bar

Meanwhile, Breillat frames the legend with scenes of a pair of modern girls (Marilou Lopes-Benites and Lola Giovanetti) who read it aloud, infusing the rational openness and practical troubles of French daily life with the dark mysteries of distant times.

NEWYORKER: Bluebeard