This film covers the last years of the Emperor’s life, imprisoned by the British on St Helena, a remote island off the west coast of Africa. Napoleon retains a loyal entourage of officers who help him plot his escape and evade the attentions of the island’s overzealous governor, Sir Hudson Lowe.

Paris 1942. François Mercier is an ordinary man who only aspires to start a family with the woman he loves, Blanche. He is also the employee of a talented jeweler, Mr. Haffmann. But faced with the German occupation, the two men will have no other choice but to conclude an agreement whose consequences, over the months, will upset the fate of our three characters.

During a harsh Montréal winter, an elementary-school class is left reeling after its teacher commits suicide. Bachir Lazhar, a charismatic Algerian immigrant, steps in as the substitute teacher for the classroom of traumatized children. All the while, he must keep his personal life tucked away: the fact that he is seeking political refuge in Québec – and that he, like the children, has suffered an appalling loss.

A young couple, Renée and Pierre, take a room at the Hôtel du Nord, in Paris, near the canal Saint-Martin. They want to die together, but after shooting Renée, Pierre lacks the courage to finish the job and flees. Another guest, Monsieur Edmond, rescues her. When Renée gets out of the hospital she is hired as a waitress at the same hotel. Monsieur Edmond falls in love with her, but Renée is still thinking of Pierre.