Voyage en sol majeur

For forty years, Aimé has been planning his trip to Morocco. He has read all the guidebooks, marked all the maps and taken notes. His wife, however, obstinately refuses to accompany him. Aimé is ninety-three years old. His well-ordered life has been built around his profession as a violinist in a large orchestra, with no extraordinary events or ambitious undertakings. When his grandson finally takes him to Morocco, Aimé packs his bags with obsessive care. On the boat or in the palm grove, his marvelled reaction is tainted with bitterness. At home, his wife talks with a somewhat acid frankness about what she considers important in life. In the old well-cared-for Peugeot or in hotel rooms, Aimé expresses his regrets, the missed opportunities, his fleeting happiness and the lessons life has taught him. On returning, he begins to talk with people in the street and chats willingly with the locals. Something in him has changed.