French Twist 1995

Laurent Lafaye [Alain Chabat] and Loli [Victoria Abril] are a thirty-something married couple living in southern France with their young children. He is an estate agent; she is a housewife. Laurent carries a secret life, slipping into extramarital affairs while Loli remains largely unaware of the truth hovering beneath their routine existence.

One day, a campervan breaks down in front of their house. The driver is Marie-Jo [Josiane Balasko], a strong-spirited DJ in her 40s who presents as a butch lesbian. She asks to use their phone, and in exchange for the favor, Loli’s blocked sink is fixed. This small transaction becomes a doorway to something unexpected: Loli and Marie-Jo begin an affair. Laurent is upset at first, but a friend, Antoine [Ticky Holgado], unintentionally reveals Laurent’s infidelity to Loli, which oddly seems to justify Loli’s own romance in her eyes. Marie-Jo moves into the house, and the dynamic inside the home shifts in ways no one could have predicted.

Antoine suggests a plan to smooth things over: Laurent should let Loli pursue her feelings, stop the hostility, and simply wait for the affair to burn out. Laurent agrees, and what follows is a seemingly idyllic ménage à trois that blurs the lines between affection and manipulation. The arrangement seems to work at first, especially when other lesbian friends of Marie-Jo stop by, turning the house into a small, unconventional sanctuary. Yet as more people arrive, jealousy and unsettled boundaries begin to surface, and Loli’s initial delight gives way to insecurity.

Marie-Jo eventually decides that the setup isn’t sustainable. She knows Laurent wants her to depart, so she crafts a deal with him: she will break up with Loli and leave immediately if Laurent will grant her a long-sought wish—a baby. Laurent consents and has a sexual encounter with Marie-Jo to ensure she becomes pregnant, after which she leaves before Loli returns. Laurent tells Loli nothing about the arrangement, honoring the unwritten bargain with Marie-Jo.

The couple settles back into their old life, but the emotional landscape has shifted irreversibly. Then Loli hears a rumor that Marie-Jo is living in Paris and is several months pregnant. Astonished and unsettled, Loli insists that they travel to Paris to see Marie-Jo. They find her working as a DJ in a lesbian club, where their intrusion triggers a confrontation with the club owner, and Marie-Jo is fired. Loli and Laurent bring her back to their home, and she gives birth to their baby. The ménage à trois resumes, with both mothers caring for their children, their lives now bound by a shared family circle that defies conventional expectations.

As Laurent contemplates a bigger house to accommodate everyone, a new encounter arrives at the property: he meets a handsome Spaniard [Miguel Bosé] in the pool area and, after a casual breakfast together, the two share a look and a kiss by the water. The moment introduces a new, ambiguous twist to a story already navigating complex love, commitment, and desire, leaving the couples and families at a crossroads about what their future together truly means. Miguel Bosé