In Marseille, a beautiful young woman loves a café boy who dreams of sailing the world.

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Marius (Raphaël Personnaz) drags his boredom along with him as he works the counter of his father's bar (Daniel Auteuil). While all he wants is to go and explore the world in the next boat to leave the docks, he drowns in the liters of water that accompany his clients' anisette. Fanny (Victoire Bellezy), meanwhile, who has loved the boy since childhood, lets herself be wooed by Panisse (Jean-Pierre Darroussin), a widowed, rich boat and sail maker with no kids who sees a future in her. Jealous about what he sees as a ridiculous twosome, Marius becomes unhinged. When a space opens up for Marius on “La Malaisie”, Fanny finally tells him how she feels about him. Torn, Marius doesn't know whether he should stay and marry the beautiful seashell seller or go off and live his dream...

First in the Marcel Pagnol trilogy, revisited 80 years after his first movie adaptation by Daniel Auteuil, this is an extremely unsubtle Mediterranean port flick drawled in a strong accent stuffed with every imaginable cliché. Its suffocating weight puts the audiences' nerves to the test as they wait impatiently for Marius to set sail.