Prelude to a Kiss

Peter Hoskins attends a party and meets Rita Boyle. He feels his confidence grow as her liberal, free-spirited outlook starts to reshape his world. Their budding relationship deepens despite their different beliefs about life and love.

Rita explains she does not want to be a mother because life can be cruel and unjust. Her candor challenges Peter to imagine a shared future beyond fear, while his optimism grows. The scene seeds the couple’s core conflicts and their eventual bond.

On their wedding day, Julius Blier kisses the bride and their spirits switch places. Rita ends up inhabiting Julius’s elderly body, while Julius temporarily occupies Rita’s younger form. The couple’s life plans are upended in an instant.

Rita, now in Julius’s elderly body, is disoriented and wanders back toward Julius’s address. The newlyweds depart for their Jamaica honeymoon, unaware of the true identity of their traveling companion. The shift in ages casts a veil over their immediate future.

During the Jamaica honeymoon, Peter senses his wife has changed in Rita’s body and she (as Julius) eagerly suggests they should have children. The swap deepens the distance that fear once created but also shows the new bond forming. Peter starts to question what truly constitutes Rita.

Back home, the person appearing as Rita seems more like Rita again, but Peter suspects an impostor who studied Rita’s diary to perfect the masquerade. He fears the swap may be permanent and wonders if their relationship can survive such deception. The doubt sows tension as they try to navigate their true identities.

Peter visits Rita’s bar and encounters Julius, and through their conversation, he learns that the elderly man is, in fact, the real Rita residing in Julius’s body. The swap is confirmed: Rita’s soul currently inhabits Julius, while Julius’s soul inhabits Rita’s body. Peter realizes a second switch may be possible but must be carefully considered.

Julius, now living as Rita, reveals his own life’s burdens; his wife has died and he faces terminal cancer with about a year left. Rita and Peter adjust to living with Julius, creating a fragile and intimate cohabitation that forces them to rethink their priorities. The situation forces them to confront mortality together.

The experience teaches Rita that life is precious and finite, and she grows to embrace it rather than fear it. Peter discovers that love can transcend physical form and he comes to value the soul within his wife. Their bond deepens as they learn to cherish each moment.

Peter persuades Rita’s mother to bring Rita to him, hoping to repair the marriage. Mrs. Boyle arranges a private moment for the couple, setting the stage for a possible reconciliation. The fragile peace depends on addressing their deeper fears and the swap’s consequences.

Rita and Peter attempt to switch back, but Julius admits he doesn’t know how the first switch happened. He reveals he envied Rita’s youth and feared dying, and Rita recognizes that both of them had fears and envies on that day. Their understanding deepens as they confront their shared anxieties.

In a final magical reunion, Rita and Julius return to their proper bodies and resume their lives. Julius says goodbye, and Rita and Peter vow never to take each other for granted, choosing to cherish their time together. The film ends with a recommitment to love beyond appearances.