Valentin(e) 2017

Runtime

6 mins

Language

French

Directed by

Paul Marques Duarte

Made by

Black Sheep

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Valentin(e) Plot Summary

Read the complete plot summary and ending explained for Valentin(e) (2017). From turning points to emotional moments, uncover what really happened and why it matters.

In 1969, the story unfolds through Valentín, Judikaël Goater, an eight-year-old boy with thick black-rimmed glasses who lives with his grandmother after his parents’ divorce. He dreams of becoming an astronaut and follows the ongoing space race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. He no longer sees his mother, Véronique Royer as The Mother, who was chased out of the family home by his imperious, dictator-like father, François Rimbau as The Father, who prefers the life of an Argentine playboy.

Valentín is close to his uncle Chiche and the piano teacher Rufo, who live across the street. Both speak to him as if he were an adult, and Valentín often seems wiser than his years. His uncle takes him to mass, where a priest speaks about the death of an Argentinian doctor who was killed recently. The priest also references Che Guevara as a man “who believed in an ideal, and who believed that injustice could be overcome. Please, don’t leave here before you’ve asked yourselves, in all sincerity: Who of you would give, not his whole life, but a year or even just one day, for an ideal, the way that Che gave all he had?” > The moment is thought-provoking for Valentín, who remarks that, “But just like my uncle said, the priest couldn’t change anything. Everything stayed the same.”

Leticia, his father’s latest romantic interest, visits and spends a day with Valentín, sharing time in the park, watching a movie, and sharing a meal. Valentín confides personal things about his life and his father, and Leticia reevaluates her relationship with Valentín’s father, ultimately ending the relationship. The breakup deeply upsets his father, who blames Valentín for the turn of events.

One day Valentín realizes his grandmother is ill but refuses to see a doctor. He crafts a plan to get her to see Dr. Galaburri, and the plan succeeds enough to prompt changes in their lifestyle. To thank the doctor, Valentín buys a painting to display in his office. Tragically, his grandmother dies after a hospital visit, and Valentín goes to stay with one of his friends from school.

A thoughtful man visits Valentín and gives him a shirt his mother sent. They talk about his mother, and Valentín begins to understand why she has stayed away for so long. The film ends as Valentín arranges a blind date between Leticia and Rufo, and the three share a meal together. Valentín declares his decision to become a writer, and the story closes with Leticia and Rufo starting a new, happier life together.

Valentin(e) Timeline

Follow the complete movie timeline of Valentin(e) (2017) with every major event in chronological order. Great for understanding complex plots and story progression.

Valentín's family setup and world view

Eight-year-old Valentín lives with his grandmother Maura after his parents' divorce. He wears thick black-rimmed glasses and dreams of becoming an astronaut. He follows the space race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union with intense interest.

1969 Valentín's home

Life under a divided household

Valentín misses his mother, who was driven from the family by his father. His father is distant and self-absorbed, rarely present in day-to-day life. Valentín grows up with an adult-like awareness of family fractures.

1969 Family home

Uncle Chiche and the church talk

Uncle Chiche takes Valentín to mass, where the priest speaks about Che Guevara and idealism. The crowd reacts with a mix of engagement and doubt. Valentín notes how lofty words seldom change everyday life.

1969 Church

Leticia enters Valentín's life

Leticia visits and spends the day with Valentín, sharing a park outing, a movie, and a meal. Valentín opens up about his family, revealing his inside story. Leticia begins to rethink her relationship with Valentín's father.

1969 Park, cinema, restaurant

Tension after the breakup

Leticia ends her relationship with Valentín's father after hearing Valentín's revelations. The father reacts with anger and blames Valentín for the breakup. The family dynamic grows tenser as a result.

1969 Home / city

Valentín notices grandmother's illness

Valentín realizes his grandmother Maura is ill, but she refuses to see a doctor. He grows worried and starts scheming to find a way to get her medical help. This marks a new chapter of responsibility for the boy.

1969 Grandmother's home

Valentín arranges medical help

Valentín devises a plan to get Maura to Dr. Galaburri, and the plan seems to work. Maura begins to make changes to her lifestyle under medical guidance. The effort showcases Valentín's determination and care.

1969 Dr. Galaburri's office / hospital

Valentín thanks the doctor

To show his gratitude, Valentín buys a painting for Dr. Galaburri to display in the office. He wants to acknowledge the doctor's help and kindness. The gesture reflects Valentín's thoughtful nature.

1969 Doctor's office

Grandmother's death

Despite the improvements, Maura dies after going to the hospital. Valentín processes another loss and spends time with a school friend as he copes with grief. The death marks a turning point in his childhood.

1969 Hospital

A shirt and a mother's absence

A thoughtful man visits Valentín and gives him a shirt that his mother sent. They discuss his mother, and Valentín begins to understand why she stayed away for so long. The mystery of her absence slowly becomes clearer to him.

1969 Valentín's home

A planned blind date

Valentín arranges a blind date between Leticia and his piano teacher Rufo. They share a meal together, and Valentín proclaims his dream of becoming a writer. The moment ties the adults’ lives to his own future in a hopeful way.

1969 Leticia's circle / home

Ending and future

Leticia and Rufo end up together, and Valentín decides to become a writer. He narrates the ending with a sense of possibility for his own life beyond childhood. The story closes with Valentín looking toward the future.

1969 Home

Valentin(e) Characters

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The Mother (Véronique Royer)

Valentín’s Jewish mother is largely absent from the family after being pushed aside by the domineering father. Valentín deeply misses her, even if he struggles to remember her clearly. Her absence shapes his longing for closeness and belonging, coloring his interactions with others who step into the maternal role.

💔 Absent Mother 🕊️ Longing

Valentine (Capucine de la Gorce)

Valentine is the father’s romantic interest who spends a day with Valentín, sharing moments that reveal the complexity of love within a fractured family. Her encounter with Valentín makes her rethink her relationship with his father and ultimately ends the affair. Her presence exposes how adults’ choices ripple through a child’s sense of security and future.

💖 Romantic Interest 🧭 Influence

Valentin (Judikaël Goater)

An eight-year-old boy with thick glasses who is perceptive beyond his years. Valentín dreams of becoming an astronaut and uses imagination to navigate a home split by divorce and his father’s tyranny. He handles serious topics with maturity and helps drive the plot through his observations and actions.

👦 Child Protagonist 🧠 Wise Beyond Years

The Father (François Rimbau)

A dictatorial, anti-Semitic Argentine playboy who dominates the family dynamic. His volatile temperament and control over the household push Valentín to seek elsewhere for meaning and stability. His actions catalyze the family’s emotional fractures and the choice to pursue other relationships outside the home.

⚖️ Patriarchal Authority 💔 Flawed Father

Valentin(e) Settings

Learn where and when Valentin(e) (2017) takes place. Explore the film’s settings, era, and how they shape the narrative.

Time period

1969

The film takes place in 1969, at a time when the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union looms large in the popular imagination. Valentín experiences the era’s grand promises and dangers through a child’s lens, while his family faces personal turmoil. This period combines geopolitical fever with intimate domestic drama, shaping the characters’ choices and hopes.

Location

Argentina

Set in Argentina during 1969, the story unfolds against a backdrop of family upheaval and social change. The setting features homes, churches, parks, and streets that reflect a society navigating tradition and modernity. The country’s atmosphere amplifies the emotional stakes of Valentín’s world as he observes adults grappling with love, ideology, and aspiration.

🇦🇷 Argentina 🧭 1960s setting

Valentin(e) Themes

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🚀

Dreams

Valentín’s longing to become an astronaut anchors the narrative, offering a beacon of hope amid a fractured family. His imagination turns space into a refuge where possibility outshines despair. The space race backdrop intensifies the sense that grand ideals can provide meaning for a child’s life. The dream functions as both personal escape and a subtle commentary on a society that promises progress but struggles to protect its own.

🧭

Identity & Belonging

The absence of Valentín’s mother and the authoritarian, divided household force him to negotiate his place in a world that cannot easily define him. He often acts with an adult-like calm, yet his vulnerability shows through in moments of longing and curiosity. The story uses his perspective to explore how identity is formed through family, memory, and the gaps that stay unfilled.

💔

Loss

The illness and eventual death of Valentín’s grandmother mark a pivotal emotional turn, teaching him about mortality, responsibility, and resilience. Loss permeates his childhood, reframing his understanding of care and companionship. The film uses grief to deepen character complexity and to illustrate how love persists even after departure.

🎭

Illusion vs Reality

The father’s dictator-like persona contrasts with his real-life flaws, exposing the gap between outward bravado and inner fragility. The priest’s talk of ideals—contrasted with Valentín’s lived experience—highlights how adults sometimes preach change without enacting it. The narrative repeatedly blurs performance and truth, urging characters and viewers to discern sincerity from spectacle.

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Valentin(e) Spoiler-Free Summary

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In a quiet dorm room of a 1969 Argentine university, a twenty‑year‑old Valentín unlocks a box of old photographs, each image a portal back to the world of his childhood. The film opens with this gentle act of remembrance, setting a tone that feels both nostalgic and inquisitive, as the young man balances the promise of adulthood with the lingering echoes of a simpler, yet complicated, past.

Back then, Valentín lives with his devoted grandmother, Maura, in a modest neighborhood where the reverberations of the global space race flicker through the streets. A small, cross‑eyed boy with thick black‑rimmed glasses, he is fascinated by rockets and dreams of soaring among the stars, while the realities of his fractured family shape his daily life. His father, a charismatic but distant figure known only as Agresti, maintains a cold, authoritarian presence, and the absence of his Jewish mother haunts the household with a quiet, unspoken longing.

Surrounding the boy are a few adult companions who treat him with a surprising level of respect. His uncle Chiche and the piano teacher Rufo, who lives across the street, speak to him as if he were already an adult, offering snippets of wisdom that hint at the complexities of the world beyond his window. A local priest occasionally drifts into the conversation, weaving in reflections on idealism and social change that linger in the boy’s thoughts. Together, these relationships create a delicate tapestry of humor, melancholy, and curiosity, inviting the audience to wonder how a small child navigating such contradictions might someday find his own voice.