Macadam Stories

Against the backdrop of a dilapidated apartment building in the heart of the French urban jungle, stories of social anonymity, loneliness, and the painful effect of time's penetrating caress become intertwined with selfless acts of kindness, solidarity, and an odd encounter with the paradox. After experiencing firsthand life's cruel irony, the parsimonious tenant, Sternkowitz, concocts a spur-of-the-moment plan to make a good first impression on a lonely night-shift nurse, relying on his old Polaroid camera. In the meantime, the insecure movie star, Jeanne Meyer, stands powerless before the unstoppable force of youthful frankness, as her genuinely concerned next-door neighbour, Charly, becomes a beacon of self-confidence, and her improbable mentor. Then, out of the blue, the disoriented American astronaut, John McKenzie, winds up in kindly Madame Hamida's flat and realises that the mysteries of the cosmos can lead to a beautiful bond. Can there be tenderness in a bleak world?—Nick Riganas