Crossroads

Synopsis – Crossroads

Michelle and Alem live their comfortable but emotionally empty life in the most elegant district in Paris where Alem works as a diplomat and Michelle, despite being well-qualified, is a housewife. Having emigrated from an Eastern-European country and being married to a Lebanese-French man, Michelle often feels alone and confused, although she has passions, such as ballet, art and charity.
She desperately tries to get pregnant while her selfish and possessive husband keeps visiting a prostitute in a luxurious brothel. Vanessa, a lustful Polish girl came to Paris a few years
before, after having lived in different parts of the world taking advantage of her biggest gift, her sensuality.
Michelle has to open her eyes and although she does not find out anything about her husband’s affair, after he hits her during an argument cause of an unimportant issue, she needs
to face up with the fact: she lives in a golden cage.
As she thinks she still loves her husband she decides not to leave, but to try to fix their marriage. Also, she takes a job offer and continues working for the European Committee,
where her main task is dealing with Northern African immigrants on the outskirts of Paris.
As the story goes ahead we can obtain an insight into the French capital’s cosmopolitan and rather diverse society. Economical and social tension, the issues of integration, emotional and
moral questions turn up time to time in the characters’ lives.
While Michelle tries to succeed as a person as well as a woman, Vanessa has to realize that her feelings for Alem are much stronger than she has ever felt for anyone before. However, as
an escort lady she often appears with different people almost everywhere Alem goes either alone or with his wife. Including a diplomatic reception, where Michelle meets Pierre, a young British diplomat from London who, regardless she’s married, insists on meeting her. Michelle gets amazed by the young man’s artlessness and self-confidence. After her initial reluctance they start a passionate affair. Pierre wants her to divorce and start a new life with him. In the meantime he becomes Alem’s assistant and while they work together on an upcoming UN congress, they make friends.
While Vanessa keeps having Alem as a client and struggles with her feelings, she accidentally finds out that he is the husband of her old school friend, Michelle, whose first boyfriend she
seduced when they were teenagers.
Just before Michelle would be ready to make a decision to leave her husband, Pierre dies in a terror attack in Brussels. Hearing the news Michelle has a miscarriage. At the same time
Vanessa finds out she’s pregnant.
Alem comes back to Paris safe and sound but totally broken. He wants to start a new life with his wife, thinking Michelle lost their child. He breaks up with Vanessa, who only tells him she
has decided to leave the brothel and give up her life as a prostitute.
Although Michelle doesn’t find out anything about her husband’s infidelity and never lets him know about hers, she applies for a transfer and leaves her husband as well as Paris.
Vanessa makes the same decision after she gets informed about her alcoholic mother’s death, whom she hasn’t seen for years.
The two women go to the same airport and get on the same airplane in a rainy afternoon without meeting or even knowing about each other.

  • Emese Sperlagh
    Writer
  • Project Type:
    Screenplay
  • Number of Pages:
    81
  • Country of Origin:
    Hungary
  • Language:
    English
  • First-time Screenwriter:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Writer - Emese Sperlagh