Maddened by his Absence

When his son is killed in a car accident, Jacques cannot get over the guilt he feels because he was driving the car. He leaves France and his wife Mado, coming back nine years later only to settle the estate of his recently deceased father. While there, he sees Mado again. Unlike him, she has moved on with her life with a boyfriend named Stéphane. They have a seven-year-old son, Paul. Mado allows Jacques to meet Paul. Paul grows attached to this sad man, while Jacques develops an obsession for the child, to the point where, with Paul’s help, he moves into the basement of their building, unbeknownst to Mado and Stephane.