In summer, Cayeux-sur-mer is the perfect picture postcard seaside resort,
a haven for holidaymakers who flock here in their thousands to take advantage
of the rolling stretch of beach. But in the winter months, this anonymous
coastal town in the north of France looks very different. There is
little to distract even the locals, many of whom find themselves without
work at this time of year. Marie is luckier than some. At least
she has a job at a pebble sorting factory. The pay is low and the work
is monotonous, so Marie longs to escape from the town and start a new life
somewhere else. Her retired mother Rose shows her no sympathy
- she is usually too busy squandering what little cash she has on the slot
machines to have any interest in her daughter's woes. The only person
who seems to understand Marie's disillusionment is her friend Paul, who finds
his work as a grocer's assistant in the winter a step down from his usual
summer job as a lifeguard. Marie finds she has a kindred spirit in
Albert, a white collar worker who has just been dismissed from the factory
belonging to his father. Resentful of his brother's success, of which
his parents constantly remind him, Albert has grown to hate the town and
shares Marie's desire to run away and begin a new life. With his expensive
car, could this be the Prince Charming that Marie has been waiting for...?
In the 1920s French cinema was at its most varied and stylish - witness the achievements of Abel Gance, Marcel L'Herbier, Jean Epstein and Jacques Feyder.