Becker’s spirited portrait of Left Bank youth was the first film to examine the struggles of this generation that emerged from the war with neither the guilt nor the sadness of their parents, but rather with a feverish desire for action, and a despair at the prospect of a meaningless life. Becker meets his protagonists in their haunts—the streets and nightclubs of Saint-Germain-des-Prés—and shares with them their passions, in particular that for New Orleans jazz. The story follows five characters—aspiring actors, would-be anthropologists and filmmakers, littérateurs and hepcats—their family relationships and their first loves. Within a loose structure, Becker gives his most devastating comment on the smug bourgeois family by siding with its rebellious youth.