Frédo (Antonio Buil ) has lost his wife and daughter to his alcoholism and tendency to hit out. Paul (Mathieu Ziegler) is an assembly line worker who has lost his job. Nadia (Stéphanie Schneider) is a young student who cuts herself and makes money as a prostitute. This unlikely trio lives together, lost in their own problems, without caring much about each other. Until Paul convinces them to put out 3000 francs to participate in a snail race. Firmly intent on their common goal, they prepare to train their three snails. But their troubles continue: Paul is still stuck in his rut, Nadia can’t stop cutting and increases her number of older male clients, and Frédo disregards every court injunction as he tries to win back his family – in vain. On the eve of the race, the fates of these three change dramatically as their futures are decided.

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Written and directed by Joseph Incardona and Cyril Bron, Milky Way is a very pleasant film that subtly allies humor, pain, frustration and the stalemate posed by daily life that one is not suited for. Both dialogues and silences exude the reality of living in a city in crisis, of broken lives and of taking advantage of that one last chance before it’s too late. No one cares about morals; this is reality and it is murky, tarnished and not very welcoming. The film’s images are harsh and bitter, just like the city it is set in.