Manuel Sanchez

In a village by the Meuse river, located near the French-Belgian border, a factory storekeeper named Basile Matrin leads a dreary life with his wife, Rose. The young Maryse Duval, who had just come back from Paris, has abandoned her dreams of becoming an actress. She will unwittingly turn their life upside down. Basile's great friend and neighbour, who is a reporter for a local newspaper called " Le Quotidien de la Meuse", witnesses the comical drama that is unfolding on the street outside his house, and will unwillingly be drawn into this "Dramedy".

In this surreal comedy, Tonio (Simon de la Brosse) works very hard for every bit of ill-gotten cash he can get his hands on, but he remains a poor criminal in both senses of the word. He and his buddies Bruno (Dominique Pinon) and Hercule (Charles Schneider) think they have the solution to their pocketbook woes. The body of St. Bernadette has been miraculously preserved from decay and is a central object of pilgrimage in the shrine where it is kept. Why not steal that and hold it for ransom? The criminal gang is well able to pull this coup off and are soon in possession of one perfectly preserved corpse and a very fancy coffin. It's too bad for them that the church seems to have a limitless supply of these and doesn't want the one they stole back. Bemused, the lads set the coffin adrift on the river, only to be followed by it as they drive back upriver. In the course of carrying out their criminal designs, these lovable lugs encounter a variety of eccentric characters.