As far as I can see…

Logline
A solitary boy tries to make sense of life by making toy models of the world around him. His look on life changes forever after a vicious rumor and the chance encounters with a roaming peddler.

Synopsis
1927
Boré (8) lives in a small sleepy village in the mountains of France. He likes to make diorama’s with bits and pieces he finds, has a secret hiding place in his father’s barn and roams the surrounding countryside alone. One day he meets Bayard, a peddler in pots and pans. Boré is fascinated by Bayard. Bayard seems to know who Boré is by just looking at him.

At home Boré feels out of place. His father Alphonse is a rugged man who does not talk much, his older brother Guy is just like his father. While his mother Evelyne is protective of her youngest, Alphonse looks at Boré a dreamer.
On the “La Foire”, the big fair where cattle is being bought and sold, peddlers in all kinds of goods sell their goods and man test their strength in tug of war and wielding an ax, Boré and Bayard meet again. Bayard and Evelyne seem to know each other too. Bayard charms Evelyne to singing a song in front of the crowd, everything seems fine till Alphonse bursts in and threatens Bayard to leave his wife alone.

All this is being watched by Marie Reynoud, the bakers wife and village gossiper and unaware of Boré being in earshot she spreads a rumor that changes Boré’s look on his life forever.

1935
History like village life repeats itself.
Boré (16) tries to make sense out of live around him still makes diorama’s. He is in love with Eline but does not dare to approach her and his relationship with Alphonse is getting more tense.
He meets Bayard again as he heads to the yearly fair and Boré get’s to hear his philosophy on life and love. Boré feels more akin to this roaming peddler than he ever did to Alphonse and Guy.
To the delight of Alphonse Guy wins at “le Foire” the ax wielding contest, drunk with pride and wine he stumbles upon Bayard and Evelyne talking like old friends. A small crowd gathers to watch the scuffle between the two and rumors grow, not only in the village but also in Boré mind.

1940
Boré (21) feels that nothing ever changes in life, it only gets thicker and harder to swallow. He is still in love with Eline, but knows now he will never have her. Guy has turned out just like Alphonse and the villagers stick to a daily routine they don’t even seem to see.
Once again Boré and Bayard meet. Bayard, who seems to have lost almost everything, sheds light on some of the premise Boré has lived his life by.

In a storm that rips tranquil village life apart for a moment, Boré is left with the one thing that Bayard had left to give, the gift of freedom.