Brother and Sister

The memorial service for Jacob sets a somber mood. Louis, Jacob's father, recognizes André Borkman among the mourners and the old estrangement boils over into a physical confrontation. They are escorted from the ceremony, and André finds Alice crying nearby, while Louis warns them to leave or call the police.

Five years have passed since the service. Abel and Marie-Louise drive toward their daughter Alice's opening night and encounter an ice road in the countryside. A driver loses control and hits a tree; as they try to help, a second truck slides into the scene. A girl involved in the crash dies while Abel and Marie-Louise are left severely injured.

Before the opening night, Alice reads Louis's latest novel, which portrays her in a humiliating light. This marks the second time such an act has occurred, the first being when she tried to stop the publication. The revelation deepens the rift between them and compounds their family tensions.

Alice performs the play as planned. After the performance she learns of the ice-road accident and rushes to the hospital to find her family in crisis. There she reconnects with her younger brother Fidèle, who is navigating the same turbulent aftermath.

Louis, living in the countryside with his wife Faunia, learns his parents' days may be numbered and decides to return to Lille. He moves into his parents' apartment and begins to reconnect with his past. He writes Alice a letter and asks Fidèle to deliver it.

On a rainy day in Lille, Alice meets Lucia, a Romanian immigrant living in a shelter. Alice invites her for a drink and explains why she hates Louis: years earlier she was a successful actress while Louis was a struggling writer who leaned on her money. When Louis later gains recognition, their rift deepens, and André remains a long-time friend caught in the crossfire.

Louis tends to his father in the hospital while the family crisis unfolds. He eventually encounters Alice in the hospital, where she faints in the corridor. The moment underscores how fragile their connection remains despite their shared history.

A flashback reveals Alice and André's marriage, which Louis had opposed. He voices that André is not right for her. In this memory, Alice reveals that she is pregnant, adding a new layer to the family history.

Marie-Louise dies in the hospital. Fidèle cannot bring burial clothes to the morgue, so Louis goes in his place. There, he overhears André and Alice discussing the funeral, and Alice makes clear she does not want Louis to attend.

Alice resolves to bury Marie-Louise and step back from acting. Lucia, exhausted and hungry, nearly faints, prompting a brief crisis. While searching for food, Alice ends up at the market where she unexpectedly runs into Louis.

In the hospital, Abel removes his oxygen mask and vitals monitors and walks into the corridor, where he dies. His death compounds the family tragedy and deepens the emotional strain on Alice.

Faunia travels to Lille for the funerals. Days after the funerals, Alice and Louis meet again and begin to clear out their childhood apartment. On the rooftop, Louis contemplates stepping to the edge, and Alice arrives; he asks Fidèle and his boyfriend Simon to leave and reveals that he regrets all the years he loved her, while she reveals she has always hated him.

Louis comes down from the rooftop and collapses with a fever. Alice helps him change, covers him with a blanket, and they lie in bed together, sharing a tense but intimate moment. The fragile bond between them is momentarily renewed.

Some time later, Louis is back to teaching. Alice relocates to Abomey, Benin, and sends a letter stating she has left behind the theatre, André, and her son, claiming she feels finally alive again.