In
the winter of 2008, Regis Deloux (Frank Dubosc), a maths teacher from the Parisian suburbs,
pricks himself with a broche that once belonged to a certain Viviane Coquelin,
a young silent film actor who left France in 1917 to try his luck in Hollywood.
Following this accident, Regis’s body becomes black and white, his walk jerky
and his words no longer come out of his mouth but instead appear on the screen
like in silent films.
What’s more, he discovers he is now blessed with a strange power : he can move
at will from one film to another.
Somewhat distraught, Regis is trying to come to terms with the incident when he
receives a call from Fernandel, who entrusts him with the mission of tracking
down Viviane, who has in fact been held prisoner since 1917 in a film produced,
directed and starred in by “villain of all villains”, Douglas Craps (Pierre-François Martin-Laval).
To find him, the hero has to embark on an amazing journey through the entire
history of the cinema, from Sissi to Buster Keaton, by way of Robin Hood,
Zorro, Les Tontons Flingueurs… passing through a wealth of genres on route such
as western, cloak and dagger, horror , Tarzan, sword and sandal epics and, of
course, silent films.
From one film to another, Regis attempts the impossible : to bring Viviane back
to reality.
But will he be swayed from his task by the temptation of starting a new life
for himself in the celluloid world?
