An old and poor couple, Charles and Lucie, scrape by working as a concierge and an untalented antique dealer, respectively. But one day, their dreary daily routine is disrupted by the surprising news that they have inherited a luxurious house in the South of France.
In this satire, a police detectiveis investigating the disappearance and kidnapping of the host of a television dance show. However, instead of finding his man, he is trapped into becoming a contestant on a children's quiz show. What's worse is that he becomes a very successful contestant.
Marseille. Heaps of flowers and funeral wreaths... "A man who no longer defends his colors is no longer a man."
In this riot of frantic disguises and mistaken identities, Victor Pivert, a blustering, bigoted French factory owner, finds himself taken hostage by Slimane, an Arab rebel leader. The two dress up as rabbis as they try to elude not only assasins from Slimane's country, but also the police, who think Pivert is a murderer. Pivert ends up posing as Rabbi Jacob, a beloved figure who's returned to France for his first visit after 30 years in the United States. Adding to the confusion are Pivert's dentist-wife, who thinks her husband is leaving her for another woman, their daughter, who's about to get married, and a Parisian neighborhood filled with people eager to celebrate the return of Rabbi Jacob.
Christophe Merignac, a youngESCP graduate with a law degree but still unemployed, gets a job as a concierge in a luxury building. Using charm and cunning, he makes himself indispensable. He makes a fortune and marries a young, pretty and rich tenant, whom he happily deceives. The conclusion is bittersweet: he's "made it", but he doesn't love anyone. What's more, a young concierge who looks like a brother has just arrived in his building.
A young woman becomes entangled with a successful businessman, but her ex tries to win her back, provoking intense jealousy that leads her to reconsider her choice. Ultimately, one man's actions force a resolution to her dilemma.
1944. Léon Duchemin owns a restaurant with his sister. His clients are Germans, Résistance et black marketeers. Léon unwillingly joins the Résistance when a British pilot is shot down and hides in his attic and, through a series of mishaps, he accidentally steals the plans for Hitler's V1 missiles.
A wealthy amnesiac begins to suspect that his devoted wife is not really his wife and that he is not the man people keep telling him he is.
Determined to assert his paternal rights, Quentin leaves his small village on the Swiss border to go to Lyon to look for his daughter, now a hairdresser, who, busy with her work, hasn't been back to the village for two years. In a few days, it will be Denise's birthday, the youngest of his daughters, and, urged on by his wife, he sets off, determined to bring the prodigal son back to the family celebration. But Denise is now living off her charms.
Five swindle stories, taking place in five international cities: Tokyo, Japan ("Fumiko's Five Benefactors" by Hiromichi Horikawa); Amsterdam, The Netherlands ("A River of Diamonds" by Roman Polanski); Naples, Italy ("The Road Map" by Ugo Gregoretti); Paris, France ("The Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower" by Claude Chabrol); and Marrakesh, Morocco ("The Confidence Man" by Jean-Luc Godard). Godard's segment was not included in the original French cinema release, and Polanski's segment was not included on the 2016 home disc release.
Gangsters from the United States try to kill a key government witness whose testimony could help land an influential mobster in jail. It's up to detective Maigret to deal with the FBI and a series of underworld figures to save the life of the witness...