First Name: Carmen

Carmen introduces herself in a voiceover as 'the girl who should not be called Carmen,' while shots of the city and the sea set the mood. The narration suggests a self-conscious, artful tale to come. The opening establishes the film's tone of irony and fate.

The eccentric Jeannot lives in a sanitarium, and the doctor threatens to throw him out unless he shows signs of real illness. His presence anchors the film's satirical edge and hints at his unreliable nature. Carmen's arrival soon underlines the damaged family ties that drive the plot.

Carmen visits the sanitarium and learns that Jeannot is her lecherous uncle and a washed-up filmmaker. The revelation establishes their fraught dynamic and sets the stage for later power plays. Their volatile relationship becomes central to the film's satire and tension.

Carmen convinces Jeannot to lend her his seaside apartment, giving her a base for plans and to house the gang. The space becomes a staging ground for both criminal schemes and intimate betrayals. This loan marks a key shift from confinement to mobility.

Carmen and the gang attempt a bank robbery, setting the plot in motion. Inside the chaos, Carmen meets Joseph, a comically inept guard, and their wary curiosity quickly turns to a dangerous attraction. The event threads music and mayhem as the quartet rehearsals punctuate the action.

The budding romance between Carmen and Joseph intensifies amid the robbery’s turmoil. The music of the string quartet underlines the emotional beat as their bond deepens. The subplot hints at Claire as a potential love interest for Joseph.

After the heist, Carmen and Joseph retreat to Uncle Jeannot's seaside apartment. Carmen recalls childhood incestuous encounters, quoting Carmen Jones about how love can end a person. The moment deepens the underlying tension between them.

Joseph is arrested and put on trial, while Carmen escapes with Fred, the gang’s leader. The separation solidifies the pair’s divergent fates and hints at the moral ambiguity of the heist. The courtroom becomes a focal point for public sentiment and spectacle.

In a flashback, the robbery is shown to fund a larger project—the kidnapping of a major manufacturer or his daughter. Uncle Jeannot’s fake film serves as cover, echoing a Dillinger-style scheme. The scene reframes the crime as part of a broader artistic facade.

Joseph is acquitted with the help of a passionate public defender and Claire’s moral support. The victory intensifies the gang’s resolve and Carmen’s hold over him. The courtroom drama contrasts legal outcomes with moral ambiguity.

Fred persuades Uncle Jeannot to direct the gang's film, sealing cinema’s role as both cover and vehicle for their crime. The project blends art with crime and escalates the plan’s audacity. The film-within-a-film becomes a literal part of their operation.

Joseph reunites with Carmen at the gang’s hotel, hoping to renew their bond and join the kidnapping. Carmen shows growing disinterest, and the gang ostracizes Joseph as tensions rise. The hotel becomes a pressure cooker for their volatile relationship.

Carmen's relationship with Joseph deteriorates as he pushes her toward a coercive sexual encounter in the hotel shower. The moment marks a sharp turn in their dynamic and the film’s critique of power and desire. The mood remains tense as plans move toward their final act.

The kidnapping is set to unfold in the hotel’s restaurant, with Uncle Jeannot directing the fake-film and the string quartet performing publicly. Police follow Joseph, and mayhem erupts as the plan spirals out of control. The scene crystallizes the film’s obsession with performance and danger.

A gun goes off; Carmen falls, and Joseph is dragged away by the police. In a moment of stunned stillness, Carmen asks what it means when the innocents are on one side and the guilty on the other. The answer comes as the dawn, a blunt 'Daybreak' that frames the film’s tragedy and ambiguity.