Michel, was born in Latin America, "on the other side of the world", as the script emphasizes, of a French father he hardly knew at all. He goes to Paris to start a new life. His only possession is a painting which his father left him, along with the advice: "If you ever need to sell the painting, do so in France, where it's worth a fortune." But Michel discovers that his father's tumultuous and secret past comes along with the valuable painting. Meanwhile, Clara, a middle age Spanish-Argentine mother gets a strange present from a now dying childhood friend in Buenos Aires. It's a roll of Super 8 film which brings back very strong, and emotionally charged memories from the 1970s and before.