An American woman and man visiting France criticize the French people and culture, revealing their ignorance and disregard even as they delight in the fun their unusual group of friends is having.

An American man on a train in France encounters a peasant man and his family who try to speak to him despite the fact that French is not his first language.

An innocent introductory French course called la Muerte teaches vocabulary, by describing a typical farm until the farmer disappears.

Americans attend a French wedding, uncovering the history of German occupants, a French cook, and American soldiers.

M. Alexandre Caisse gathers an assembly of building residents to air their grievances, discuss recent intrusions, commiserate over the deterioration of their building and their culture, and generally fill the room with strong opinions.

A Frenchman tells the story of his escape from the Germans and how he believes the French have lost, not because of the battle, but because they have lost the French women and the French spirit.

On a vacation in France with his wife and family, Reynolds reminisces about the trip he and his wife took to Mont-Saint Michel decades ago, despairing at the bigger and faster pace of the town and the beauty and culture that seems to have been lost since then.

In Spain during the Francoist dictatorship, a girl's father insists that their family will never speak Spanish again in favor of Basque — a small act of political defiance that slowly changes their lives, until they can never go back.

An Algerian university professor and former prisoner of France struggles with the symbolic implications of getting advice from an elite French visiting professor.

The relationship between the Italians and the French run thin before and after the armistice, and two men (one Italian and one British) living in France try to understand where their place in the world is.