Les gens d'à côté

Lucie leads a quiet, meticulously ordered life. As a forensic police officer, she is trained to observe, analyze, and maintain emotional distance. Her solitude is disrupted when a young family moves into her housing complex. Drawn to their warmth and spontaneity, Lucie gradually forms a bond with the couple and their young daughter. But her growing attachment is shaken when she discovers that Yann, the father, has a long criminal record and is known for his radical anti-police activism. The revelation unsettles Lucie’s carefully structured world. What begins as simple neighborly sympathy evolves into a profound moral dilemma: how to reconcile professional loyalty with personal empathy. As suspicion, attraction, and doubt intertwine, Lucie is forced to confront her own certainties. MY NEW FRIENDS (Les Gens d’à côté) unfolds as a subtle psychological drama about trust, ideology, and the fragile boundary between private life and professional duty — anchored by Isabelle Huppert’s restrained and complex performance. The film had its world premiere at the Berlinale 2024 in the section Berlinale Special, where it attracted significant attention as the latest work by acclaimed director André Téchiné.