Bluff (2007) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

The building inspector Jean-Philippe Pearson uncovers a shocking secret in the basement of the apartment building slated for demolition. While the exact nature of the secret isn't specified in the summary, it warrants contacting both the landlord and police, suggesting it's significant enough to halt the demolition and require official investigation.

• basement secret
• building inspector
• discovery
• demolition

Michel and Josée desperately search the apartment for a painting they believe could be worth over $100,000. Their search is driven by the possibility of a life-changing windfall, and it becomes a central thread that ties together the various lives within the building, revealing tensions and hopes as they rummage through familiar spaces.

Foreshadowing: The painting is mentioned as a 'haunting possibility' that changes conversations and decisions throughout the building.

• painting
• Michel
• Josée
• $100000
• search

Georges, an older man, challenges his daughter Julie's boyfriend Sébastien to a boxing match to prove his claim that he was once a championship boxer. His stubborn insistence clashes with the modern world's skepticism, sparking tension between generations and exposing pride and doubt that threads through the entire building.

• Georges
• Sébastien
• boxing match
• championship
• challenge

Patrice and Chuck attempt a botched criminal scheme to rob the landlord, injecting nervous humor into the film. Their misadventures involve comic incompetence and mishaps, creating ripples that collide with the more carefully plotted lives of other tenants in the building.

• Patrice
• Chuck
• robbery
• landlord
• scheme

Nico and Céline invite Serge into their intimate life for a ménage à trois, a choice that creates ripples within the apartment's micro-society. The arrangement tests boundaries and trust, exposing how affection, jealousy, and desire coexist in the cramped living space.

• Nico
• Céline
• Serge
• ménage à trois
• relationship

Julien sits with his girlfriend Ève, nervously rehearsing for a job interview while she coaches him with tips and reassurance. The scene reveals their relationship dynamics and the hope resting on this new opportunity, painting a tender portrait of young adults trying to map out a future amid uncertainty.

Foreshadowing: The timeline shows this as a memory of opportunity, hinting at how small choices ripple through life.

• Julien
• job interview
• Ève
• preparation
• opportunity

As the police officer arrives, the various tenants' vignettes converge under the weight of the basement discovery. The truth behind the secret begins to surface, reframing what happened in the apartment over the last 15 years. The landlord reflects on how each tenant left a trace, shaping the building's character and connecting past lives to the present moment.

• tenants
• stories
• connection
• basement
• convergence

The building was slated for demolition, but the inspector's shocking discovery in the basement threatens to change everything. As authorities arrive and the secret begins to surface, the timeline closes in on the present moment and the immediate threat of demolition looms uncertainly.

• building
• demolition
• basement
• police
• inspector

The film uses a nonlinear narrative structure, weaving together multiple storylines across a 15-year span to uncover a central secret. While the inspector and landlord wait for the police in the present, the film shifts into a montage of past events tied to the apartment's tenants, using the basement discovery as a pivot that links past lives to the present moment.

• nonlinear narrative
• vignettes
• 15 years
• past
• present