La nouvelle vie de Paul Sneijder (2016)

The sole survivor of an elevator accident in which his daughter Marie, from his first marriage, died, Paul Sneijder, a senior executive in his fifties working in Montreal, begins to question his life. He blames himself for spending so little time with his daughter, whom his second wife, Anna, had driven away from the family home. Still walking with a cane, Paul bears visible aftereffects of the accident, but it has also left him unable to get into an elevator, although he remembers nothing about it. He needs time to think, and since people advise him to walk, what better way than to walk dogs? He thus meets Benoît Charistéas, a decent fellow who runs Dogdogwalk, a small dog-walking business. At first doubtful about Paul's ability to manage dogs, Benoît, who is passionate about prime numbers, hires him when he realizes that Paul also knows about them. This new job embarrasses his wife Anna, who believes Paul must turn the page as quickly as possible and waste no time in suing the elevator company to get as much money as he can from the case. Materialistic and career-driven, Anna has never tolerated Marie in the house. She thinks only of the future of her two sons, who are the spitting image of their mother, and for whom this unexpected windfall would be a real boon, allowing them to continue their studies at one of the best universities in the United States. She steers Paul toward Mr. Cudmore, a crafty lawyer who promises him enormous damages. But the man's obvious greed puts Paul off, and the two do not hit it off. One day, a man calls out to him on the sidewalk: Mr. Wagner Leblond, the lawyer for the other side, who is particularly humane and has come to offer him a settlement. Neutral and objective, when he sees that Paul has little desire to embark on legal proceedings, he nevertheless advises him to make sure he protects his interests. The two men become friendly, as Paul instinctively feels respect and trust for this tactful professional, unlike the lawyer his wife recommended. At first hesitant, Paul gradually becomes determined, sickened by his wife's sordid selfishness: he will not file a claim, if only to ensure that his sons do not owe their success to their half-sister's death. His resolve strengthens when he accidentally discovers that his wife has a lover. To overcome his fear of elevators, Paul also decides to go to Dubai and climb to the top of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest tower in the world. But his plan cannot go ahead because his wife has had his bank card blocked. Furious, he goes home to demand an explanation. There, he discovers that Anna, believing Paul is losing his mind, has decided to call in a psychiatrist. Paul loses his temper and wants to pack his things and leave the marital home immediately. But the door is locked. He breaks a window to escape, but the police find him and he ends up locked in a psychiatric hospital. He takes advantage of a visit from his friend Benoît to escape from the hospital. As soon as he is out, he asks Mr. Wagner Leblond to help him get out of there. The film ends with Paul managing to overcome his fear, getting into an elevator in the Burj Khalifa and, once at the top, gazing out across the horizon. A new life awaits him.