Paul and Michelle

Set about three years after the events in Friends, Paul Harrison Sean Bury and Michelle Latour Anicée Alvina reunite and pick up the threads of their lives. Paul, who has just finished prep school in England as the head boy, returns to France to study at the Sorbonne and to locate his lover and their three-year-old daughter Sylvie. He is directed to Nice, where Michelle had taken a job, only to discover she left because of an unpleasant situation with her boss, and is now living in a comfortable apartment with Garry Keir Dullea, an older American airline pilot.

Michelle had written to Paul many times, but his stepmother failed to pass along the letters. The two discover that they are still in love, and they return with Sylvie to Michelle’s cottage in the Camargue for an idyllic summer. Garry is unhappy about losing Michelle and tries to get her to change her mind and stay with him, but ultimately accepts her choice to be with Paul.

When the Sorbonne term begins, Paul obtains a small, inexpensive apartment near the school and brings Michelle and Sylvie to live with him, and the two befriend some of Paul’s classmates. Then Paul’s father finds out Paul is living with Michelle and Sylvie, and cuts off Paul’s allowance, forcing both Paul and Michelle to go to work. Michelle also discovers she is pregnant by Garry, and, feeling unable to afford or manage another child, she obtains an illegal abortion with the help of medical student friends, without telling Paul until she returns home visibly ill. Garry visits Michelle to tell her he will be moving to New York City and invites her to join him, but she chooses to stay with Paul.

Tired from the demands of work, child care and Paul’s studies, the couple begin to bicker, culminating in a major argument when Michelle returns from work and finds Paul taking a break at a cafe with an attractive female friend. During the argument, Sylvie wanders away from the apartment and Paul and Michelle frantically search for her before finding her unharmed later that night.

Michelle decides that their living arrangement is not working, and that she and Sylvie should return to the cottage until Paul finishes school and gets a good job and a nicer apartment. She will get a job in Arles to support Sylvie, and Paul can visit for holidays. Paul accepts her decision, reasoning that they survived a three-year separation before and can do so again. In the final scene, Paul puts Michelle and Sylvie on the train to Arles and sadly waves goodbye as it pulls away.

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 12:40