In some respects, this movie resembles The Women on the 6th Floor, but neither a particularly handsome man nor a beautiful woman appears and the story is more subdued, so the movie could be overlooked. In The Women on the 6th Floor, the barrier to love is easy to understand—a difference in race and social hierarchy—but in this movie, the barrier to love is the difference in individual education within the stable middle class, or the difference in the way of enjoying life and in preferences. However, I recommend this movie from the bottom of my heart to mature adults who are quietly but greatly enjoying life.
Also, if you are fed up with the exaggerated way of expression seen in Hollywood movies—where people hit each other when they are angry or throw something when frustrated—I strongly recommend that you watch this movie. All of the characters that appear in this movie are good people in their own way. Using humor and ordinary happy and sad moments, this movie depicts the simple fact that, in order to find the person who both gives you happiness and you can make happy, it is essential to find someone who—beyond having a nice personality—aligns with your personal tastes. This philosophy of love and the good sense of humor is very French. No explanation is needed for someone who likes French movies.
Castella is the owner of a medium-sized business. He has money, but his appearance could be teased by young kids—pipsqueak, chubby, balding—and he has no education or hobbies outside of his business operation. Because he is to conduct business with an Iranian company and his business contract requires that he be protected by a bodyguard, he hires Franck, a former police officer. In order to converse with Iranians, he needs to learn English, and his contract demands that Castella take private English lessons, but he is not interested in the English lessons, and he quickly sends his English teacher Clara away.
Since his niece is an aspiring actress, he goes along with his wife to the theatre, out of an obligation to see his niece appear in a play, but Castella, who had no interest in theatre, is unexpectedly impressed by the play, and he notices that the actress who impressed him is none other than his English teacher. And so, he falls in love. And thus his passionate (so he thinks, though from the outside it looks humorous) pursuit of her begins. This movie depicts how the characters, including Castella and Clara, are attracted to the opposite sex (and to life).
Castella’s wife is an interior decorator, and she excessively decorates their home with girlish tastes, which Castella was fine with since he thought he didn’t have any aesthetic sense. However, by hanging around Clara and her friend group of artists, Castella discovers he has his own preferences. Because of this, he begins to notice that his wife has disregarded his feelings, believes that only her thoughts and preferences are right, is only concerned for her pet, and is only interested in superficial things, so his heart begins to grow distant from his wife. Castella, with his own preferences awakened, becomes gradually uncomfortable in his house littered with floral patterns.
Castella has an inferiority complex due to the oppressive attitude of the elite business consultant he works with who graduated from a top-notch university, and Castella hates him because Castella thinks the consultant is looking down on him. However, the consultant is exhausted from working with Castella, and he gives Castella his resignation letter with a look of relief; Castella then realizes that the consultant had taken a firm attitude in order to enthusiastically carry out his professional duties, and that the consultant was very important for Castella’s business, so Castella humbly requests the consultant not to resign.
Castella’s bodyguard Franck is at first glance a cool, nihilistic bad boy, and Castella’s driver Bruno is a virtuous softie, but the two become friends through their work. Bruno goes to buy tobacco at the bar where Clara and her artsy friends hang out, and thus gets to know the bartender Manie. Manie is a kind woman, and she is at first attracted to Bruno’s kind side and dates him, but from the moment that she meets Franck through Bruno, the two immediately fall in love because Franck’s nihilism and dark side and the darkness in Manie’s heart attract each other like lightning.
Franck at first glance seems nihilistic, but a sense of justice that he thought he had thrown away remains in his heart. He tries to get Manie to stop making a living off of dealing narcotic drugs, but Manie is not pleased with this. One day, he sees on the news that his former partner finally successfully arrested a big-shot who had committed crimes without punishment from the law. Franck and his partner had chased this big-shot, who had always managed to escape successfully. Franck grew jaded by the inability of the police to bring this man to justice, and so resigned as a policeman, but his partner never gave up on the investigation. This news causes Franck to reconsider his relationship with Manie.
Clara is at first annoyed by the presence of Castella, who follows her around and lacks education. On the other hand, Clara begins to be annoyed by her artsy associates, who look down on Castella’s lack of education and keep making fun of him, but accept his money as their patron. Clara gradually begins to realize that Castella has an appreciation of art, and with this discerning eye, he values her as an actress, as a person, and as a woman, so her heart begins to open to him.
Bruno is rejected by both his former girlfriend and Manie because he is too nice. He joins the town’s amateur orchestra in order to play the flute that he loves. The movie ends with a kind-looking, potentially good-fitting girl gazing at Bruno with admiring eyes. This way of ending gives the audience a very optimistic feeling.
In short, this movie depicts the mysterious process of being attracted to something. The feeling may one day come along suddenly like lightning, or it may come along slowly from an unexpected place. Although one person is made up of various characteristics and values, this movie wonderfully expresses the simple truth that, in the end, a person bases any choice—including the person they love or life opportunities they pursue—on their truly important preferences and values.