Scene of the Crime

Martin the escaped convict corners Thomas in the cemetery and demands that he bring money for train fare the same day. Thomas protests that his parents are dead, a lie that complicates the motive and tethers him to Martin's ruthless plan. The encounter kicks off a dangerous push-pull between a desperate boy and a fugitive.

Thomas tries to take money from his mother, Lili, to give to Martin. When he sees her sadness and loneliness, he remorsefully returns the money and confesses what he attempted to do. The moment exposes his internal conflict between loyalty to Martin and love for his family.

Thomas spends a weekend at a Catholic boarding school, preparing for his first communion. His grandmother organizes the celebration while his mother and father hope for a quiet reconciliation that never fully arrives. A school chaplain also notes his troubled behavior.

Thomas tries to coerce money from his grumpy grandfather, who only wants to go fishing. He scrapes together what he can, propelled by the threat of Martin and his scheme. The attempt underscores his escalating desperation.

When Thomas returns with some money for Martin, Luc, Martin's accomplice, decides the boy is too big a liability and tries to kill him. Martin shoots Luc to save Thomas, transforming the fugitive's world from pursuit to murder.

Martin, broke and penniless, ends up at a bar by the river where Lili works. She helps him, arranging for him to take a room at a local hotel and stay awhile. The encounter marks the first bridge between Martin and Lili since his escape.

Thomas later tells his mother the story he dreamt about the cemetery, but she realizes it happened for real and that the convict is the man she just left in the hotel. The revelation shatters her assumptions about safety and loyalty. The family starts to fracture further under the weight of truth.

A church/in-family celebration for the Holy Communion unfolds with little harmony. Thomas voices a dark wish for an atomic bomb to destroy his school, underscoring his deep despair. The grandmother clings to appearances while the family drifts apart.

Alice, the convicts’ longtime girlfriend, appears with a gun to help them escape to Tangier. They move quickly to hide Luc's corpse in a graveyard as part of the cover-up. The scene binds them closer in danger and complicates the plan.

Martin leaves town with Alice toward Tangier but quickly changes his mind and returns to the village alone. He goes to the bar to find Lili, drawn back to her despite the danger and their complicity.

Martin and Lili grow closer in the night, culminating in a bold decision for Lili to run away with him. The choice signifies a final break from her old life and a pact with the fugitive.

Thomas's teacher and confessor bring news of the escapees and pressure him to reveal the truth to the authorities. The weight of surveillance and guilt lands heavily on his shoulders.

That stormy night, Thomas escapes the boarding school to visit his mother and finds Lili and Martin making love. He runs away in confusion while Martin pursues him, setting off a dangerous confrontation.

In the pursuit that follows, Alice shoots Martin. Moments later she kills herself by crashing her sports car into a wall, leaving chaos and silence in the village.

The next morning, Lili tries to see Thomas at his father Maurice's house, but Maurice keeps them apart. At the police station, Lili confesses and is detained, while Thomas is seen riding his bike through the town.