La Pointe-Courte

Two stories, one on a macro scale and one on a micro scale, in the French seaside fishing village of Pointe Courte are told. With other more personal stories of the individual fishers as a backdrop, the macro story concerns several fishers in town who are fighting the health board and the fisheries department about the ban to fish, most specifically harvest shellfish, from a small lagoon, where the authorities purport the high bacteria levels pose a risk to humans in consuming seafood harvested from there. Regardless, many fishers still continue to harvest shellfish from the lagoon, mixing it with shellfish harvested from approved areas, and placing forged health board approved stamps on the crates for sale, and/or hiding the harvested shellfish from the authorities. The question becomes whether either side will be able to convince the other of their position. The micro story concerns a husband and wife and the state of their four year marriage. The wife, a Parisienne, has just arrived in town for the first time, following her husband, a native son, who came back to town for the first time in quite some time five days ago. She is contemplating breaking up with him. Although past actions, such as infidelity, may be grounds for such thoughts, she is contemplating doing so solely because of her perception of the nature of love in its entirety. Seeing a bit of his past life as a resident of Pointe Courte may give her a better understanding of him as a person.