In the 1930s, on the eve of the Popular Front, Pierre and Jean harmoniously combine their brotherhood. Pierre has just finished his medical studies, Jean his law studies. A rivalry is born between the brothers when Jean, the youngest, inherits the fortune of Dr. Maréchal, his godfather, who has just died in the colonies.
Frédérique Letheil, who heads the research department of the Emmerson oil group, has sacrificed her private and sentimental life to her experiments. The management, which sees her work as a financial drain, has her unjustly dismissed by the group's general manager, Maxime Vergnaud. When the company realizes its mistake and the economic and ecological potential of Frédérique's research, it asks Maxime to bring her back at all costs.
Pierre is a hotel cashier in Vichy, so shy that he answers an ad from the Psychology Institute and can't say no to the salesman, Aldo; he spends 6,000 francs on tapes, books, and a punching bag. Soon after, he's smitten by Agnes, a hotel guest with a model's looks and photographers wherever she goes. When she leaves for Nice, he follows, meeting Aldo on the way. Aldo becomes his boldness coach. Pierre gets a job washing dishes where Agnes is staying, but after a week or so, she's off to Deauville, with Aldo and Pierre in pursuit. Using funds they get by selling Aldo's car, this time Pierre poses as a polo-playing jet setter. Will this win the heart of Agnes?
Marcello Mastrioanni stars as aging actor Nicolas whose career has dwindled to TV commercials. Seeking an anchor in his life, Nicolas attempts a reconciliation with his ex-wife. But in this, as in his professional life, Nicolas is doomed to disillusionment and failure.
The guardian of a nursing home lends a compassionate ear to the complaints of two new pensioners who love each other and have only one dream: to see the sea. To help them realize their dream, the brave man steals the car of the director. She quickly discovers the crime and drags her pale husband to the pursuit of the trio, aboard a tanker truck...
For generations, two rival French villages, Longueverne and Velrans, have been at war. But this is no ordinary conflict, for the on-going hostilities are between two armies of young schoolboys. When he is beaten by his father for having lost his buttons, the leader of the Longueverne army, Lebrac, has an idea which will give his side the advantage: next time, he and his brave soldiers will go in battle without their clothes...