Anouk Aimée

Paris, Fashion Week 1994. All kind of models, designers, reporters, fashion editors... join together to present next year's trends. Kitty Potter (Kim Basinger) is an American reporter from Atlanta, Georgia who is in search of big news. Sergio (Marcello Mastroianni), an Italian expedite living in Moscow, Russia, arrives in Paris and sends an identical Christian Dior neck tie to the president of the French Association of Fashion, Olivier de la Fontaine (Jean-Pierre Cassel) and meets with him in high secrecy. He disregards his wife Isabella de la Fontaine (Sophia Loren), who is mad at him and tries to avoid Kitty in the airport, but she sees him so he has to give the interview. They have a sandwich and then Sergio and Olivier leave the airport. Sergio doesn't realize that he is carrying Joe Flynn's (Tim Robbins) suitcase. Nearby, scruffy American journalist Anne Eisenhower (Julia Roberts) has lost her suitcase and she can't understand or speak any French, so she takes Sergio's luggage by mistake. While Sergio and Olivier are together in a limo, the president dies while they are stuck in a traffic jam and Sergio runs away. When the chauffeur realizes that his passenger is dead, he cries for help, and Sergio jumps from a bridge so that a police officer doesn't catch him. Cy Bianco (Forest Whitaker) is an eccentric fashion designer who is always changing his mind about his designs. Milo O'Brannigan (Stephen Rea) is a photo journalist from Ireland covering Fashion Week. He is established as is a lazy, I-can't-be-bothered rock-'n'-roller who takes a photo of all the designers together, including Sonya Rykel (herself), and Jean-Paul Gualtier (himself). Meanwhile, Isabella goes to the Richard Lacroix fashion show as if nothing had happened. After the show, where Christy Turlington (herself), Tatjana Patitz (herself), Naomi Campbell (herself), Helena Christensen (herself) and other models strut their stuff, Kitty will interview Gianfranco Ferré (himself), at the time head designer for haute couture house Christian Dior (himself). At the hotel, Anne tries to contact people in the world of fashion without much success. As she and Joe share a luxurious hotel room, and she can't stand drinking, they end up making love. The next morning, she gets angry because he jumped to the occasion, leaving it as a one-night stand when she mentions it. Watching the televised Issey Miyake show, Sergio sees Joe wearing his jacket. Kitty interviews Miyake (himself) as well. Investigating Olivier's death, Paris Metro Police Inspector Tantpis (Jean Rochefort) and Inspector Forget (Michel Blanc) say that it's going to be easy to find who killed Olivier, as everybody hated him. Meanwhile, Sergio moves from one fashion show to the other. He is always among the crowd, always in search of Isabella. When he finally approaches her, Isabella faints, with Kitty crying, "She's not dead! She's not dead!" again and again. Fiona Ulrich (Lili Taylor) is an American photojournalist who interviews various designers. Regina Krumm (Linda Hunt) is the editor-in-chief of Elle magazine who wants to sign Milo. He asks her to go to her knees and beg. When she complies, he photographs her, so she dismisses him while calling him names. He laughs all the way. Later, as a freelance photographer, Milo makes an editorial advertisement for LO footwear, with Linda Evangelista (herself), Carla Bruni (herself), Kristen Fick (herself), Adriana Karembeu (herself), and Greta Cavazzoni (herself). Milo will do the same trick, this time photographing American reporter Sissy Wanamaker (Sally Kellerman) who offered him sex and also wants him to sign for an important position. Nina Scant (Tracey Ullman) is a reporter from the British Vogue who falls victim to Milo in the same way as she is promised sex in exchange for a cover story. Sergio, aka Sergei, finally finds Isabella at a dinner party where Kitty is interviewing Cher (herself). It is revealed here that Sergei and Isabella were lovers when they were younger back in Italy, but as they belonged to a Communist party, he left after their wedding night. He is saying that he still loves her, when they are interrupted by somebody offering her sympathies as a recently widow. They will meet the following day at 16:00 hours at Le Pensevr's statue. Although he is married to a woman, Cy has a gay lover and they share a joint outside at night. At the hotel, Sergio gets Joe Flynn's copy key, posing as Flynn. Cy does his fashion show on an underground Paris Metro train. Two models fight. Pilar (Rossy de Palma) works for famous French designer Simone Lowenthal (Anouk Aimée), who has problems with Jack Lowenthal (Rupert Everett) because they and the company are bankrupt. Slim Chrysler (Lauren Bacall) is another American designer who is on the payroll of Clint Lammeraux (Lyle Lovett), a Texan investor who worries about his own future. Cy and his lover meet their partners, who are also cheating on one another. While they are about to fight, Kitty appears and interviews them. Major Hamilton (Danny Aiello) and his wife Louise (Teri Garr) are an American couple on vacation in Paris who decide to attend the fashion shows, while Louise takes her free time to shop in the various expensive shops. She purchases a large quantity of lingerie, for both herself... and her husband who is later revealed to be a cross-dresser. When Nina, Sissy, and Regina all learn from each other that they were victims of Milo's scam, they turns the tables on their tormentor by stealing his camera and offer to negotiate the return of his incriminating camera in exchange for him telling him his story. Isabella and Sergio go to bed, but after her striptease, he falls sleep, so she leaves in frustration. Simone makes the last preparations for her fashion show, wherein the models, including Yvette Horner (herself) wear cowboy boots... and nothing else. Simone for LO presents a catwalk of nude models to the music of The Cranberries' Pretty. First confused and then fed up, Kitty leaves, giving her microphone to her long-suffering French assistant Sophie Choiset (Chiara Mastroianni), who gladly takes the position in front of the camera. The inspectors say that Olivier died because of the ham sandwich he ate, which got stuck in his esophagus, so he choked to death. Anne and Joe say goodbye as they both prepare to return to the USA, both better dressed this time and they agree to keep their several night stand a secret between the two of them. Over the end credits, Olivier's funeral is held. We see some naked children playing, following the new fashion of Simone, the trend of appreciating the human body and showing it without ornaments. Sergio has fallen asleep again, so he's not in time to talk to Isabella, who dresses in black. The film ends with images of several catwalks.

George is unemployed, broke, about to be drafted to Vietnam, and suddenly madly in love with the divine Lola, a woman he has only briefly glimpsed. Now George searches for his potential amour through the City of Angels. George Matthews is a young man who is having a bittersweet affair with a French divorcée in Los Angeles. Waiting to be drafted, he is unable to commit himself to anything or anybody, including his girlfriend Gloria. While trying to raise money to prevent his car from being repossessed, George is attracted to Lola, a Frenchwoman who works in a "model shop" (an establishment which rents out beautiful pin-up models to photographers). George spends his last twelve dollars to photograph her, and discovers that she is as unhappy as he. Although Lola is unwilling to respond to George, their brief night of lovemaking gives both the will to deal with their respective problems. —alfiehitchie Twenty-six year old Angeleno George Matthews is floundering in life and somewhat directionless. An architect by trade, he is currently unemployed because his aspiration to build grand structures does not match the work of an architect just starting out. In addition, he is unable to make a long term commitment to his live-in girlfriend Gloria, who has given him opportunity after opportunity to show her if she means as much to him as he does to her. His short term concerns are waiting for his draft notice to come through which he is dreading, and scrounging $100 from friends so that he can pay off the collection agents who will repossess his car otherwise. His goals change when he spots a beautiful woman with whom he becomes infatuated. As the day progresses, he learns that she is a French woman named Cecile, who works as a model - stage named Lola - in a tawdry studio specializing in erotic photographs. Despite the issues that she too is facing in life, George sees her as a possible new beginning. —Huggo

A young widow, Anne Gauthier (Anouk Aimée), is raising her daughter Françoise (Souad Amidou) alone following the death of her husband (Pierre Barouh) who worked as a stuntman and who died in a movie set accident that she witnessed. Still working as a film script supervisor, Anne divides her time between her home in Paris and Deauville in northern France where her daughter attends boarding school. A young widower, Jean-Louis (Jean-Louis Trintignant), is raising his son Antoine (Antoine Sire) alone following the death of his wife Valerie (Valerie Lagrange) who committed suicide after Jean-Louis was in a near fatal crash during the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Still working as a race car driver, Jean-Louis divides his time between Paris and Deauville where his son also attends boarding school. One day Anne and Jean-Louis meet at the Deauville boarding school after Anne misses the last train back to Paris. Jean-Louis offers her a lift and the two become acquainted during the drive home, enjoying each other's company. When he drops her off, he asks if she would like to drive up together the following weekend, and she gives him her phone number. After a busy week at the track preparing for the next race, Jean-Louis calls and they meet early Sunday morning and drive to Deauville in the rain. Clearly attracted to each other, they enjoy a pleasant Sunday lunch with their children who get along well. Later that afternoon they go for a boat ride followed by a walk on the beach at sunset. Jean-Louis spends the following week preparing for and driving in the Monte Carlo Rally in southeast France. Every day, Anne closely follows news reports of the race, which takes place in poor weather conditions along the icy roads of the French Riviera. Of the 273 cars that started the race, only 42 were able to finish, including Jean Louis's white Mustang, number 184. Watching the television coverage of the conclusion of the race, Anne sends Jean-Louis a telegram that reads, "Bravo! I love you. Anne." That night at a dinner for the drivers at the Monte Carlo Casino, Jean-Louis receives the telegram and leaves immediately. He jumps into the same car he used during the race and drives through the night to Paris, telling himself that when a woman sends a telegram like that, you go to her no matter what. Along the way he imagines what their reunion will be like. At her Paris apartment, Jean-Louis learns that Anne is in Deauville, so he continues north. Jean-Louis finally arrives in Deauville and finds Anne and the two children playing on the beach. When they see each other, they run into each other's arms and embrace. After dropping their children off at the boarding school, Jean-Louis and Anne drive into town where they rent a room and begin to make love with passionate tenderness. While they are in each other's arms, however, Jean-Louis senses that something is not right. Anne's memories of her deceased husband are still with her and she feels uncomfortable continuing. Anne says it would be best for her to take the train back to Paris alone. After dropping her off at the station, Jean-Louis drives home alone, unable to understand her feelings. On the train Anne can only think of Jean-Louis and their time together. Meanwhile, Jean-Louis drives south through the French countryside to the Paris train station, just as her train is arriving. As she leaves the train, she spots Jean-Louis and is surprised, hesitates briefly, and then walks toward him and they embrace.