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Mixing interviews, rare archival footage and film extracts, the film shows how Melville's works were impacted by what he experienced in his youth during WWII, and how it structured his whole approach to cinema, not only in its thematic but also in its aesthetics.

Samuel comes back to his hometown for a business trip, having not return since leaving for college, almost thirty years ago. On his way to an important meeting, he gets knocked over by a car, driven by a young man. It seems like a harmless accident and Samuel decides to take some rest in a park. Memories from his youth come rushing back as the night falls and the consequences of the accident slowly emerge.

Pierre Schoendoerffer revisits his life and career, with a strong focus on the impact that his experience as a war cinematographer for the French army during the Indochina War had on him.