Stolen Kisses (1968) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Antoine was discharged from the army as unfit because he preferred reading novels and writing letters to Christine rather than following orders. His lack of military discipline and his constant distraction with his romantic life made him unsuitable for service.

• antoine doinel
• army discharge
• military service
• uncut film

Christine never wrote back to Antoine's many letters, though he sent her more than one a day during his service. While the exact reason isn't explicitly stated, the summary notes that not all of his letters were kind, suggesting his writing may have contained hurtful or demanding content that made her reluctant to respond.

• christine darbon
• letters
• relationship
• communication

Antoine lost his hotel job when a man accompanied by a private detective demanded he lead them to a room where a woman had checked in. The woman was the man's wife, and she was with another man, causing the husband to destroy the room in a fury. Antoine was blamed for the disturbance and fired.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Antoine spent most of his time reading behind the desk rather than working, setting up his pattern of neglecting responsibilities.

• hotel alsina
• job loss
• room incident
• private detective

Paradoxically, the hotel incident opened a new career path for Antoine. The private detective involved in the room disturbance befriended Antoine after seeing him lose his job, and shortly after hired him at his detective agency. This marked Antoine's transition from hotel clerk to private investigator.

• private detective
• detective agency
• career change
• mentor

Antoine broke up with Christine during his affair with Fabienne Tabard. When pressed about the cheating, Antoine told Christine that he never admired her, a cruel statement that ended their relationship. His involvement with the older, more sophisticated Fabienne had pulled him away from Christine, and he chose to end things rather than be honest about his infidelity.

Foreshadowing: Earlier in the story, Antoine already struggled to balance his work assignments with his relationship with Christine, showing his growing distance.

• fabienne tabard
• affair
• break up
• infidelity
• love triangle

After being fired from the detective agency and losing his mentor who died on the same day, Antoine reinvented himself as a TV repairman. This new profession kept him distant from Christine, suggesting he was avoiding the relationship after the painful breakup.

• tv repairman
• career change
• new job
• aftermath

Christine deliberately disabled her TV and called Antoine's company to lure him back. After crashing a van into her father's car earlier (which they forgave), Antoine had been avoiding her. The repair job gave them a chance to reconnect, and after hours of struggling with the broken TV, their bond was rekindled.

Foreshadowing: Christine's father had urged her to reconnect with Antoine after forgiving him for the car accident.

• christine darbon
• tv repair
• reconciliation
• relationship

After Antoine proposes and Christine accepts, they stroll through a park where a man who has been following Christine declares his love as something 'permanent.' Christine finds this insane, but Antoine recognizes the man's obsessive pattern as his own behavior reflected back. In a moment of self-awareness, Antoine quietly admits, 'He must be,' acknowledging his own fickle nature.

• park
• rival suitor
• permanent love
• self-awareness
• ending

Antoine's mentor at the detective agency died on the same day Antoine was forced to confess about his affair with Fabienne and was fired from the agency. The death is mentioned briefly without explanation, adding to the emotional upheaval of that pivotal day.

• mentor
• death
• detective agency
• firing

The affair ended when the detective agency suspected Fabienne of cheating and forced Antoine to come clean about his involvement with her. He was fired from the agency on the same day his mentor died. After confessing, Antoine ended his relationship with Christine, telling her he never admired her, before the full extent of the Fabienne situation was revealed.

• fabienne tabard
• affair exposed
• fired
• georges tabard

While following someone for a case, Antoine ran into Colette, the object of his earlier infatuation who is now married to Albert Tazzi with a child. The unexpected meeting rekindled complicated romantic feelings from his past, adding to his emotional turmoil and showing his pattern of being drawn to unavailable women.

• colette
• albert tazzi
• past love
• infatuation
• sergio tur

Georges Tabard hired the detective agency to find out why no one liked him. Antoine posed as a stock boy at Georges's shoe store to investigate. During the case, Fabienne seduced Antoine, beginning an affair that would ultimately derail his career and his relationship with Christine.

• georges tabard
• fabienne tabard
• shoe store
• seduction
• affair