

Business executive Odile seeks a new, larger apartment. Her younger sister Camille, having completed her doctoral thesis in history, is a Paris tour guide. Simon is a regular on Camille's tours as he's attracted to her. However, Camille has fallen for Marc, and they begin an affair. Nicolas is also looking for an apartment, since he hopes to eventually have his family join him in Paris.
Direction
Resnais turns karaoke into cinema—every lip-sync reveals hidden longing.
Writing
Jaoui and Bacri's script: five lonely people, zero easy resolutions.
Production
Apartment-hunting as existential dread, shot in honeyed Resnais gold.

Director
Alain Resnais
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Resnais had actors rehearse with their songs for months, then shot dialogue scenes separately—so lip-syncs are genuinely performed, not post-dubbed.
Every song is a real French hit from 1935-1965; the film functions as a secret history of postwar French pop that American viewers mostly miss.