Just Before Nightfall

It is broad daylight, and the hustle and bustle of Paris is taking its usual course. Charles is sitting in a darkened room. Behind him, the light comes on, revealing a naked woman lounging on a bed in front of him. She asks him to punish her. Charles complies with her request and strangles her - to death. From then on, Charles is on the run - from the police, but above all from his own conscience. Apathic and distracted, he finds himself in a bar where he meets his best friend, the architect Francois. But Francois is also the husband of Laura, the woman he has just strangled. Since the two are also neighbors, Francois unsuspectingly drives home, where his wife and children are waiting for him. The case is taken up by the police, but there are no leads pointing to Charles. The scandal is thus averted. But Charles continues to seek punishment. Even when he confides his secret, which weighs heavily on him, to his wife Helene, she responds with completely unexpected understanding. Finally, he also tells his friend Francois that he is his wife's murderer. But Francois merely takes note of this and talks him out of turning himself in; instead, he wants to save their friendship. While the family man's picture-perfect world remains intact on the outside, he gradually breaks down inside under the weight of his burden.