Paul, a ships's mechanic on a cargo boat, goes ashore one day in Lisbon and makes the acquaintance of loneliness, of keeping silence, and of Rosa, a barmaid. A three-sided relationship develops between Paul, Rosa and Elisa, Paul's wife, who lives in a town on the Rhine. All of Pauls' money is stolen, he follows the tracks of the thief and gets stabbed. Nevertheless, an in spite of Rosa's departure and the distance that separates him from Elisa, Paul gradually recovers.

Alain Tanner

Born in 1929 in Geneva, Alain Tanner founded the University Film Society with Claude Goretta. Their passion for film took them to London where they made the short film Nice Time (1957) that enabled Alain Tanner to work at the British Film Institute and the BBC. In 1968 he created Groupe 5, to promote a new Swiss cinema alongside Claude Goretta, Michel Soutter, Jean-Louis Roy and Jean-Jacques Lagrange. Since 1969, Alain Tanner has directed over twenty feature films including Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000 (1976), Light Years Away, which won the Grand Prix Spécial du Jury in Cannes in 1981, and Paul s’en va (2004).