Matthias & Maxime (2019) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

The kiss forces Matthias to confront feelings he has buried beneath his ambitious, structured life. The promotion represents the future he has been building with Sarah, stability, success, conventionality. By declining it, he signals that the kiss has made him question whether that path truly aligns with what he wants. He is not rejecting success, but recognizing that his priorities have shifted in a way he cannot yet articulate.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, the film establishes Matthias as someone driven by achievement, making his sudden refusal feel like the first visible crack in his carefully constructed life.

• matthias
• promotion
• job
• kiss
• denial
• identity

The high school kiss existed only as legend, something discussed at parties but never seriously examined. Years later, both men have built identities around heteronormative assumptions, Matthias with his girlfriend Sarah, Maxime planning a conventional life in Australia. The second kiss occurs when they are older, more self-aware, and at a crossroads. This time, they cannot dismiss it as youthful experimentation; it demands they confront what they actually feel rather than what they have always assumed.

Foreshadowing: The film reveals the high school kiss only as hearsay, emphasizing that it was never processed or acknowledged, leaving it to simmer beneath their adult friendship.

• kiss
• high school
• memories
• feelings
• identity

Matthias is overwhelmed by the tension between them and his own denial. When the party game forces him to be vulnerable, his defense mechanism erupts as cruelty. The insult is not really about the birthmark, it is about Matthias lashing out at Maxime because he cannot admit the feelings the kiss has awakened. It is a moment of self-sabotage born from fear and confusion, and his immediate apology shows he knows he crossed a line.

Foreshadowing: Earlier tension builds between them throughout the weekend, with Matthias struggling to reconcile his attraction with his established life.

• maxime
• birthmark
• party
• insult
• confrontation
• matthias

Maxime is about to leave for the airport to move to Australia when he finds Matthias waiting for him. Rather than letting Maxime leave without addressing what happened between them, Matthias chooses to face the uncertainty together. The film ends on a hopeful note, not a guarantee of forever, but an acknowledgment that they are choosing to walk toward each other instead of away. The future remains uncertain, but they have chosen honesty over denial.

Foreshadowing: The phone call about the letter reveals Matthias' denial, setting up the moment where Maxime finally understands Matthias has been hiding from his true feelings.

• ending
• reunion
• airport
• australia
• hope
• matthias
• maxime

Foreshadowing: The film establishes early that Maxime's future lies elsewhere, making his internal conflict about staying versus leaving central to the story.

• australia
• move
• departure
• maxime
• escape

While cleaning his house, Maxime discovers a drawing from childhood showing himself and Matthias living together on a farm. This image represents a dream or vision they shared as children, before societal expectations, before labels, before fear. It resurfaces at a crucial moment when Maxime is deciding whether to leave, serving as an emotional anchor to the deeper, unspoken bond they have always shared. It reminds him that their connection transcends the surface-level friendship everyone sees.

Foreshadowing: The drawing connects to their lifelong history, suggesting their bond has deeper roots than either man has acknowledged.

• childhood
• drawing
• farm
• memory
• maxime
• matthias

Maxime needed a letter of recommendation from Matthias' father, a successful Chicago businessman, to strengthen his application for opportunities abroad. The letter was sent to Matthias, who never forwarded it. This was not malicious but rather a manifestation of Matthias' deep denial, he could not consciously acknowledge how much he wanted Maxime to stay, so he unconsciously sabotaged Maxime's departure plans. When Maxime discovers the truth, it crystallizes his understanding of Matthias' internal conflict.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Maxime asks Matthias to help with the letter, establishing this subplot that pays off with the revelation.

• letter
• recommendation
• father
• chicago
• denial
• maxime

Sarah senses that something has changed in Matthias after the kiss. When he tries to skip Maxime's party, she recognizes he is running from his feelings rather than facing them. By encouraging him to stay, she is giving him the chance to confront what the kiss has stirred up, even though she likely suspects this confrontation might pull him away from her. Her push shows she understands the situation better than Matthias realizes, and she chooses integrity over holding onto someone who is not truly present.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Sarah observes Matthias' restlessness after the kiss and seems to understand his internal struggle.

• sarah
• party
• matthias
• support
• understanding

After his intimate encounter with Maxime, Matthias is overwhelmed and pulls away. He accompanies a business associate to a strip club, a gesture toward his old, conventional life, but cannot engage. He leaves abruptly and runs through the streets in a daze, physically acting out his internal chaos. This scene illustrates his inability to settle into either his old life or this new reality; he is caught between who he has been and who he might become.

Foreshadowing: This scene follows the afterparty encounter where Matthias pulls away after their kiss, deepening the emotional wound between them.

• strip club
• running
• confusion
• matthias
• emotional crisis

The afterparty kiss and brief sexual encounter represents the first time they act on their feelings openly. For Maxime, it is a hopeful moment. For Matthias, it triggers panic, he has built his entire adult identity around being with Sarah, being successful, being 'normal' by societal standards. Pulling away is not a rejection of Maxime but rather a terrified retreat from the implications of what they just did. His denial runs deep, and even this moment of connection is not enough to shatter it completely, until the film finale.

Foreshadowing: This follows the confrontation where Matthias insults Maxime, showing the push-pull dynamic of their relationship.

• kiss
• afterparty
• pull away
• denial
• matthias
• maxime

Maxime has spent years caring for his abusive, alcoholic mother, a role that has weighed heavily on him. Handing over the estate responsibility to his aunt is part of his preparation to move to Australia. It represents his decision to stop sacrificing his own life for someone who has hurt him. This act also frees Maxime to make a genuine choice about his future, rather than staying out of obligation.

Foreshadowing: The film establishes early that Maxime's life has been defined by caring for his mother, making this release an important step in his character arc.

• mother
• aunt
• estate
• care
• maxime
• moving