When his twin brother dies, 50-year-old Willy leaves his parents’ home for the first time and moves to a neighboring village. “To Caudebec I shall go. I will find an apartment. I will have buddies. And to hell with you all!” Maladjusted, Willy sets out to find his place in an unfamiliar world.

This darkly comic French indie is a simple yet eloquent character study of a grieving, profoundly oddball outsider. Played with striking honesty by non-professional actor Daniel Vannet, who performs a version of himself, Willy 1er is ripe with deadpan Gallic charm and a sweet and melancholic tone.