Plein sud (2009)

Sam heads south in his old car with Mathieu and Léa—brother and sister—whom he met on the road. A fourth young person, Jérémie, soon joins them. Taciturn and apparently unmoved by advances from either Léa or Mathieu, Sam carries a painful memory: as a child, he witnessed his father shoot himself in the family car during an argument between his parents. His mother, in shock, gradually lost her grip on reality and eventually spent twenty years in an institution. Sam and his little brother Alex were placed with two different foster families. During the journey south, on which Sam says he is going to Tudela in Spain, the young people meet more and more people, and Mathieu grows increasingly open in his advances toward Sam, who fascinates him. Léa discovers that Sam is carrying a pistol. The young people play with the gun, provoking a violent reaction from Sam. The four nevertheless continue on their way to the Atlantic coast. At a party on the beach, Mathieu and Sam become lovers; Mathieu is deeply shaken by the experience. By morning, however, Sam has left, abandoning the trio. When he reaches Tudela, Sam visits his mother, who has been released from the hospital, managed to find a job, and is even living with a new partner, a Spaniard. The reason for the trip now becomes clear: Sam needs to vent his anger in front of his mother. In the end, a kiss from her seems to calm him; he leaves and eventually throws his gun into a river.