Les Sœurs Soleil 1997

Bénédicte, Marie-Anne Chazel, lives in a grand house outside Paris with her husband Brice, Thierry Lhermitte, and their schoolgirl daughter Clémence, Léonore Confino. The house and the family business are both legacies from her father, and she brings a classical training and a strong sense of community to her life, including an active role in the local church. She is also nurturing a creative project, a pop opera she has composed titled Noah’s Ark, in which children and their mothers sing and dance together, a project that speaks to her hopeful, collaborative spirit.

Clémence wins two tickets to the recording session for a music video by her idol, the flamboyant diva Gloria Soleil, Clémentine Célarié. Spurred by anticipation, both she and her mother are coaxed into costumes and cast in a production that proves to be far raunchier than they anticipated. The evening takes an embarrassing turn when, at the local Lions Club, the video is shown by mistake and the crowd recognizes Bénédicte, transforming a private dream into a public moment.

When Bénédicte goes to Gloria’s address to demand the video be withdrawn, she discovers Gloria in a precarious situation, harassed by bailiffs, and she agrees to let Gloria hide in her house. Gloria then heads to the airport to join an Australian band she’s set to work with, and the group ends up camping out in Bénédicte’s home, bringing chaos and a large stash of marijuana, plus their pet kangaroo, into the tranquil life of the household. Amid the upheaval, Brice—who is far from immune to temptation—is drawn to his attractive secretary at work, and the two indulge in a fling that Clémence happens to witness after stopping by the house after school.

Clémence is soon sent away to a holiday camp as the misunderstandings multiply, and Bénédicte chooses to leave Brice to follow Gloria on a demanding, eye-opening tour that exposes her to lives beyond their quiet suburban routine. In London, a perceptive producer spots a striking symmetry: Bénédicte and Gloria could be two complementary halves of a powerful, marketable act. Thus, the Soleil Sisters are born, a new collaboration that blends their distinct energies into something commercially compelling. The producer also sees potential in Noah’s Ark, which, with a professional polish, finds a surprisingly receptive audience in a market very different from the one in which it was conceived.

As the touring life unfolds, Bénédicte’s perspective broadens and she grows increasingly aware of choices beyond the comfortable status quo. Meanwhile Brice, now confronted with the consequences of his flirtation and the financial windfall that comes from selling their house at a steep price to Japanese investors, begins to rethink the path that has brought them to this point. The journey culminates in a reconnection between Bénédicte and Brice, strengthened by the shared experience of navigating fame, family, and the possibilities that lie beyond the familiar.