Diva

Jules, a young Parisian postman obsessed with opera, attends a Cynthia Hawkins recital and secretly records her performance with a Nagra tape-recorder. He also steals the gown she wore backstage, taking a provocative memento from the event. This act marks the beginning of his dangerous fixation and sets the plot in motion.

Jules comes into possession of an audio cassette containing Nadia's testimony about Saporta's drug and prostitution racket. Nadia drops the cassette into the bag of Jules' moped moments before Saporta's henchmen kill her. The incriminating recording becomes a dangerous catalyst that pulls Jules into a web of crime and surveillance.

Police officers Paula and Zatopek begin chasing Jules, convinced he holds crucial evidence but unaware that Saporta is their own boss' ally. They pursue him through Paris streets, adding pressure from the law to the criminals' pursuit. The manhunt broadens the danger surrounding Jules.

To escape, Jules seeks refuge with Serge Gorodish, a mysterious bohemian, and his companion Alba. They shelter him in Gorodish's Paris hideout, offering protection from Saporta and the pursuit. A fragile bond forms as they navigate a shared peril.

Jules returns Hawkins' dress at the singer's luxury hotel, and she initially reacts with anger. Hawkins eventually forgives him, and a romantic mood develops as they walk together through the Jardin des Tuileries in the early morning, accompanied by a piano-like backdrop.

The Taiwanese agents threaten to release Jules' bootleg recording unless Hawkins signs a recording contract. She indignantly refuses, resisting the coercion and the exploitative pressure surrounding her art. The threat adds another layer of risk for Jules and those around him.

Jules is spotted and chased by the police, but escapes by riding his moped through the Paris Métro system. He uses the labyrinth of stations to evade capture and keep ahead of his pursuers. The chase intensifies the film's mounting peril.

He seeks refuge in the apartment of a prostitute friend, only to realize she is part of Saporta's criminal network. He flees just before L' Antillais and Le Curé arrive, narrowly avoiding another trap. The deception underscores the danger in every corner of his world.

The enforcers close in, and Jules is shot, but Gorodish arrives to rescue him just in time before Le Curé can kill him. The rescue cements their alliance and pushes them toward a safer, powered plan. The bond between Jules and Gorodish strengthens under pressure.

Gorodish and Jules drive to a safe house outside Paris, a remote lighthouse, in Gorodish's antique Citroën Traction Avant. The move buys time and places Jules under guard while the recording's leverage is prepared for use. The journey deepens the film's noir mood.

In a confrontation at an abandoned factory, Gorodish uses the incriminating recording to pressure Saporta. Taiwanese criminals interrupt, stealing the cassette thinking it contains Hawkins' bootleg, and Saporta detonates a bomb to kill Gorodish and the intruders, while the Taiwanese are killed in the chaos. Gorodish escapes in a hidden second Citroën.

Jules returns to Paris to deliver the bootleg to Hawkins, but L'Antillais and Le Curé ambush him outside her hotel. They take him back to his loft for a staged suicide, with Saporta's network pulling the strings behind the scenes. Paula has kept Jules' apartment under surveillance, waiting for an opening.

Paula intervenes, killing Le Curé and wounding L'Antillais, saving Jules from immediate execution. The rescue marks a decisive turn against Saporta's men and buys Jules a narrow window for escape. Saporta's reach still looms large.

Saporta appears, tries to kill Jules and Paula, and tries to stage their deaths as a police execution. Gorodish lures Saporta into an empty elevator shaft, where Saporta falls to his death. The criminal threat is finally neutralized, at least for the moment.

In the final scene, Jules meets Cynthia Hawkins at an empty theatre and plays her bootleg recording for her. She admits nervousness about hearing herself sing, having never listened to the recording before. The moment closes Jules' arc with a mix of romance, obsession, and revelation.