Summary:
Antoine is a young man whose attention often slips away from the people who matter most in his life. His students, classmates, friends, colleagues, and lovers all feel the sting of his distracted nature and his limited capacity for empathy. Yet there is a reason behind his scattershot focus. Although still on the cusp of adulthood, Antoine has recently started losing his hearing, a challenge that reshapes every interaction and dampens the world around him. This hearing loss isn’t just a detail; it becomes a quiet antagonist that tests his relationships and his own sense of self. He clings to the familiar rituals of routine, but the world around him grows louder, more insistent, and harder to tune out. When faced with the demands of others, Antoine often reacts with a mix of irritation and fatigue, navigating a day that never quite slows down long enough for him to catch his breath. The result is a character who is both relatable and frustrating, a man whose inner life fights to align with an outer reality that is constantly clamoring for his attention.
Claire stands in sharp contrast to Antoine. She longs for tranquility, a space where the noise of life can be tamed long enough for her own thoughts to settle. Claire shares her life with her sister and her daughter after enduring a painful loss, and she dreams of a quiet home where peace can take root. The idea of a noisy neighbor like Antoine is a perpetual strain; his loud music and the relentless ringing of his alarm clock puncture the calm she seeks. Yet beneath the surface, a spark begins to flicker. Their paths cross in small, unintended ways that reveal a surprising compatibility. The friction between their needs—his craving for connection and her craving for quiet—creates a tension that feels ripe for a deeper, gentler harmony.
The film frames this encounter as more than a simple romance. It is a story about listening, or rather the many ways listening can fail and how new listening paths can open. The director and lead actor, Pascal Elbé, presents the narrative as a romantic comedy that centers on the moment two lives collide and begin to change each other. The tone remains light and playful at its core, but the film never shies away from genuine emotion. It becomes a comedy of encounters where the chemistry between Antoine and Claire invites viewers to rethink what it means to truly hear another person. The narrative invites the audience to watch how two people with different rhythms discover a shared tempo, how each learns to adjust without losing who they are, and how a relationship can emerge from the most unexpected places.
What unfolds is a portrait of modern connection. The story treats love as an experiment in perception, offering moments of humor that soften real concerns, while also acknowledging the vulnerability that comes with hearing loss and the fear of being misunderstood. It is a film about patience, compromise, and the strange, stubborn resilience of two strangers who become a kind of team as they navigate the complexities of everyday life. As Antoine and Claire move from strangers to tentative allies to something warmer, the audience is invited to witness the gentle transformation that can happen when two people decide to listen differently, not just with their ears but with their hearts. The result is a thoughtful, buoyant exploration of romance that respects the messiness of real life while affirming the possibility that love can be found in the most unlikely places. The movie ultimately celebrates the power of empathy, the humor that sustains it, and the quiet victories that come from choosing to hear another person, even when the world around them feels overpowering and loud.