What Is Our Story About?
The premise of Our Story in 295 words, with nothing given away. The full story follows below.
In the hushed quiet of a first‑class carriage traveling from Geneva to Paris, a middle‑aged garage owner nursing a glass of beer and a lingering sense of loss drifts between the rhythmic clatter of wheels and the pages of a motor magazine. Robert Avranches is a man caught between the practical demands of a well‑established business and the unsteady tide of his own alcoholism, his thoughts folded tightly around the emptiness that shadows his everyday routine. The train itself becomes a fleeting world, a metal corridor where the ordinary slips into something more intimate and uncertain.
The compartment’s stillness is broken when a striking young woman steps aboard, her presence a flash of unexpected vitality. Donatienne moves with a confidence that both challenges and beckons, offering a moment of connection that feels both reckless and oddly inevitable. Their brief encounter—an invitation to intimacy followed by a sudden departure—places the protagonist at a crossroads, where the veneer of his respectable life flirts with a raw, unguarded impulse. The tone hovers between sensual tension and quiet melancholy, underscoring the contrast between his restrained existence and the allure of an uncharted desire.
In the wake of that fleeting liaison, the train’s landscape recedes, leaving behind a lingering ache that refuses to subside. The encounter ignites a restless drive within Robert—a yearning that pulls him beyond the confines of his familiar routes and toward a path he has never imagined traveling. The atmosphere swells with a subtle, obsessive curiosity, hinting at a journey that will test the boundaries of his self‑control and the fragile stability of the world he has built. The film invites viewers to sit alongside him, feeling the pulse of longing that reverberates through the ordinary, and to wonder where such a powerful impulse might lead.
What Happens in Our Story?
The complete story of Our Story, from the first scene to the last, in 208 words (about 1 minute). Spoilers throughout. Names in the text link to 2 cast member pages.
Spoilers ahead
Alone in a first-class compartment of a train from Geneva to Paris, a man is reading a motor magazine and drinking beer. A woman enters, challenges him to make love, and afterwards gets out at the next stop. Following her, he takes her to a hotel for a further bout and afterwards hires a car to drive her to her empty home.
He is Robert Avranches, a well-off garage owner with a wife and two little children, and she is Donatienne Pouget, a 33-year-old divorcee whose two children have been removed because of her lifestyle. When he says he’d like to stay with her, she says she is going dancing and returns late at night with a carload of friends from the nightclub.
There follows a purgatory for him, obsessed with a woman who has slept with all the neighbours and now picks up men on trains for fun. Men try to dissuade him and women try to console him, while all he wants is Donatienne, who eventually avoids his attentions by disappearing. He sets off in search of her but is retrieved by his brother and friends from Paris, who take him back to his home. His wife, delighted to have him back, looks identical to Donatienne.
Our Story Timeline: Every Key Event in Order
12 key events in the order they happen, from “Train encounter” to “Ambiguous ending”. 12 events name a place, across 9 locations.
- 1
Train encounter
In a first-class compartment, Robert Avranches reads a motor magazine and drinks beer as a mysterious woman enters. She challenges him to make love, and they give in to the impulse on the train. After their encounter, she steps off at the next stop.
When:train journey Where:Geneva to Paris
- 2
Hotel rendezvous
Following the journey, Robert takes Donatienne to a hotel for a further encounter. The passion continues for a while, but the moment is tinged with risk and uncertainty. He pays the bill and prepares to move on.
When:after train journey Where:hotel
- 3
Drive to the empty home
Robert hires a car to drive Donatienne to her empty home, where she lives alone after a difficult past. The ride underscores a fragile hold on normal life as he imagines staying with her. Yet the reality of separation and distance soon intrudes.
When:after hotel Where:Donatienne's home
- 4
Donatienne goes dancing
Donatienne goes dancing and returns late at night with a carload of friends from the nightclub. The return hints at a freer, perhaps reckless lifestyle that unsettles Robert. He watches for signs of what she is becoming and fears losing her.
When:late night Where:nightclub / return route
- 5
The purgatory begins
A purgatory-like phase descends as Robert becomes obsessed with a woman who has slept with all the neighbours and now picks up men on trains for fun. He sees Donatienne in every passing glance and misreads every sign as a sign of her interest. Men try to dissuade him, while women attempt to console him.
When:post-dancing Where:Paris / city
- 6
Social chorus around obsession
People around him react in different ways: fellow men try to dissuade him from chasing the affair, while women in his orbit offer consolation and warning. Robert clings to his fixation, convinced that he must see Donatienne again. The tension between desire and reason grows.
When:ongoing Where:city
- 7
Donatienne disappears
Donatienne suddenly avoids his attentions by disappearing into the city, leaving Robert with a hollow sense of pursuit. He refuses to accept the change and continues to search for her in the margins of everyday life.
When:after disappearance Where:city
- 8
Robert's cross-country search
Robert sets off in search of Donatienne, abandoning comfort and routine as he travels through towns and trains in a fevered chase. The pursuit pulls him away from his wife, children, and garage life. The story shifts from obsession to an all-consuming quest.
When:post-disappearance Where:various places around Paris/France
- 9
Brothers and friends intervene
Robert's brother and a group of Paris friends intervene and bring him back home. The act is framed as a lifeline to pull him out of a dangerous fixation. They physically escort him back toward a semblance of normal life.
When:return trip Where:Paris
- 10
Return home and reunion
Back at his house, Robert's wife is delighted to have him back and reunites with him. He resumes life as a garage owner with his wife and two children, seeking a fragile normalcy. The emotional tension lingers beneath the surface.
When:return Where:home
- 11
The mirror image twist
A striking twist reveals that his wife bears an uncanny resemblance to Donatienne, the woman who haunted his obsession. The resemblance blurs lines between love and fantasy. Robert's memory of Donatienne and the reality of his wife become tangled.
When:ending Where:home
- 12
Ambiguous ending
The film closes with Robert trying to navigate the memory of the affair while tending to his family. The double image of Donatienne and his wife leaves him with an unsettled sense of longing and the sense that desire can redefine home. He remains a garage owner, constrained by memory and yearning.
When:ending Where:home
Who Are the Main Characters in Our Story?
8 characters, among them Robert Avranches — Alain Delon, Donatienne Pouget — Nathalie Baye and Madeleine Pecqueur — Geneviève Fontanel: who each one is and the part they play in the story. 7 of them link to the actor’s page.
-
Robert Avranches — Alain Delon
Played by Alain Delon
A wealthy garage owner with a wife and two children, he becomes consumed by an intense, obsessive pursuit of Donatienne. His desire clashes with his stable, conventional life, revealing a restless, impulsive side beneath a composed exterior. The film tracks how his fixation destabilizes both his family and social standing.
- 💼 Wealthy
- 💘 Obsessive
- 🏠 Family-man
-
Donatienne Pouget — Nathalie Baye
Played by Nathalie Baye
A 33-year-old divorcee whose lifestyle has social repercussions, she draws Robert with a mix of allure and evasiveness. She navigates relationships through shifting identities, hinting at independence and complexity beneath a public facade.
- 💃 Enigmatic
- 🌀 Multi-faceted
- 🕊️ Independent
- MP
Madeleine Pecqueur — Geneviève Fontanel
Played by Geneviève Fontanel
Robert's wife, embodying the domestic heart of the bourgeois household. Her presence brings warmth and reconciliation, highlighting the tensions between devotion and push-pull dynamics within marriage. She represents stability and the pull of home.
- 🏠 Domestic
- 💞 Loyal
- 👑 Bourgeois
-
Emile Pecqueur — Michel Galabru
Played by Michel Galabru
Robert's relative (likely brother) who appears as part of the Paris circle offering counsel and solidarity. His stance provides a contrast to Robert's obsessive impulses and grounds the social fabric of the plot.
- 👨👦👦 Family
- 🗣️ Counsel
- 🧭 Guide
-
Sam — Philippe Laudenbach
Played by Philippe Laudenbach
A friend who tries to dissuade Robert from his reckless pursuit, representing the voice of reason within the social circle. He embodies pragmatic hesitation in the face of romantic or erotic obsession.
- 🗣️ Voice-of-reason
- 🤝 Friendship
- 🧭 Guidance
- C—
Chatelard — Jean-François Stévenin
A neighbor who embodies the casual surveillance and social dynamics of the community. His interactions reflect the ever-present gaze of the bourgeois society surrounding Robert and Donatienne.
- 👥 Neighbor
- 🧭 Social observer
- 🛑 Boundary
-
Marie-Thérèse Chatelard — Nathalie Baye
Played by Nathalie Baye
One of Donatienne's alter egos; a different social persona that Donatienne adopts in various circles. This role illustrates the fluid identity and strategic presentation within intimate and public interactions.
- 💃 Versatile
- 🌀 Facade
- 🕊️ Freedom
-
Geneviève Avranche — Nathalie Baye
Played by Nathalie Baye
Another facet of Donatienne's social play, representing how a single person can inhabit multiple relational roles. This persona underscores the film's exploration of identity, perception, and the consequences of deception in relationships.
- 🪞 Facade
- 🧭 Identity
- 🧩 Fluidity
Where and When Is Our Story Set?
Our Story is set in Geneva and Paris. Here is why the place matters to the story.
Where
Geneva, Paris
The story unfolds between a Geneva-to-Paris train journey and the social spaces of Paris. Key settings include the first-class compartment, a Paris hotel, and Donatienne's Paris home, all shaping the tense dynamic between desire and duty. These spaces anchor a bourgeois milieu where appearances matter as much as intimate encounters.
- 🚆 Train travel
- 🗺️ Europe
- 🏙️ City life
What Are the Themes of Our Story?
3 ideas the story keeps returning to, among them Desire, Marriage & Society and Pursuit & Return.
-
01
Desire
Desire drives the narrative as Robert fixates on Donatienne and pursues her across trains, hotels, and social occasions. The pursuit tests fidelity and challenges the boundaries between private longing and public propriety. The fragility of relationships is exposed as longing competes with obligation. The film portrays how attraction can destabilize a secure domestic life.
-
02
Marriage & Society
Robert is a successful family man, yet his longing for another disrupts the predictable rhythms of marriage. The wife and children anchor him in a bourgeois domestic world that he increasingly questions. The film critiques social norms that govern love, fidelity, and reputation within a tight-knit community. Neighbors and social circles reflect the pressure to conform.
-
03
Pursuit & Return
Movement propels the plot as Robert chases Donatienne through urban spaces and private rooms alike. The pursuit becomes a form of purgatory, testing endurance and loyalty. Friends and family intervene, pulling him back toward home when the chase threatens to fracture his world. The conclusion reconciles domestic ties with the ache of unfulfilled desire.
What Kind of Film Is Our Story?
Melancholic in tone, with steady pacing and a moderate story, going by the plot summary.
- Tone
- Melancholic
- Pacing
- Steady
- Story
- Moderate
- Intensity
- High
- Ending
- Bittersweet
A melancholic and unsettling journey into obsession, chronicling a man's desperate pursuit of a fleeting connection amidst a backdrop of surreal encounters and profound personal emptiness.
- obsessive
- desperate
- lonely
- surreal
- melancholic
- unsettling
- alcoholism
- obsessive love
- marital breakdown
- loneliness
Content notes: alcoholism, child custody loss, obsessive behavior.
Quiz
How well do you remember Our Story? Test yourself on the story.
