Les Amants du Pont-Neuf

Set around the Pont-Neuf in Paris, the film depicts a love story between two young vagrants Alex (Denis Lavant) and Michèle (Juliette Binoche). Alex is a drug-addicted street performer and Michèle a painter driven to a life on the streets because of a failed relationship and a disease which is slowly destroying her sight. The film portrays their harsh existence living on the bridge while Michèle, with her vision deteriorating, becoming increasingly dependent on Alex. When a possible treatment becomes available, Michèle’s family use street posters and radio appeals to trace her. Fearing that she will leave him if she receives the treatment, Alex tries to keep Michèle from becoming aware of her family’s attempts to find her. The streets, skies and waterways of Paris are used as a backdrop for the story in a series of set-pieces set during the French Bicentennial celebrations in 1989.