They dance to Nina Simone’s “Mr. Bojangles,” while their young son watches in fascination. Their love seems magical—an endless, exhilarating celebration in which ordinary life has no place. Their home is filled with music, imagination, extravagant parties, and friends, all swept along by the unpredictable and eccentric mother, who draws her husband and son into a world governed by poetry, fantasy, and freedom.

But one day, the woman at the heart of this enchanted universe crosses the fragile boundary between eccentricity and mental illness. As reality begins to close in, father and son do everything they can to protect her, preserve their extraordinary world, and keep the celebration alive for as long as possible.

In En attendant Bojangles, Olivier Bourdeaut tells a story of passionate love, childhood wonder, and the desperate refusal to surrender to reality. Beneath its exuberance and humor lies a deeply moving portrait of a family confronting illness and loss. Rarely has the expression “mad love” felt so literal—or so poignant.