André Lacombe
An adolescent comes of age during a summer in the Rhône valley with his maternal grandparents. Jules seems a little too close to his mother and distant from his father, who wants Jules out of their Parisian house. It's to be a summer of transition, perhaps to a boarding school, and during these weeks in the country, Jules fishes with his grandfather; proves himself to the local youths, a group led by the bullying Red; takes on some tough guys; feels rejected by his mother; and, meets and pursues Evelyne, the village beauty. She's responsive, and Jules doesn't exactly know what to do next. Then, something happens that propels Jules into decisiveness and maturity.
Louis, a nine-year-old boy from Paris, spends his summer vacation in a small town in Brittany. His mother Claire has lodged him with her girlfriend Marcelle and her husband Pelo while she's having her second baby. There Louis makes friends with Martine, the ten-year- old girl next door, and learns from her about life.
After dumping a bucket of water on a beautiful young woman from the window of a train car, wealthy Frenchman Mathieu, regales his fellow passengers with the story of the dysfunctional relationship between himself and the young woman in question, a fiery 19-year-old flamenco dancer named Conchita. What follows is a tale of cruelty, depravity and lies -- the very building blocks of love.
Charlie, a forty-something looking for a job, meets two twenty-something girls, Ghislaine and Josiane, who are similarly unemployed. All three decide to take to the road selling oilcloth to pay their way. The harmony reigns within the group until the arrival of Tony, a seller of miniature cathedrals.
Serge Mouret is a frail and devout young priest in a tough country parish. When he falls down and loses his memory, he is nursed back to health by Albine, the beautiful carefree niece of the outspoken atheist Jeanbernat. After Serge and Albine fall in love, Serge recovers his memory and realizes the grave sin he has committed.
