There Is No Love Without Stories

Monique is a single mother working as a taxi driver in a small town in northern France, raising her son Olivier after the man who fathered him left. Olivier feels uneasy about his relationship with his mother and invents stories to impress his schoolmate Julien. When Julien asks about Olivier's absent father, Olivier alternates between claiming the father is dead and spinning a fanciful tale about a spy with a boat. Pressed for details about his mother, Olivier jokingly calls her a top model. A chance encounter with an advertising model in a supermarket leads Olivier to ask for a kiss, which sparks a misunderstanding that fuels his tall tales. The small-town setting heightens the awkward comedy.

Released as a French TV movie in 1998, the film was directed by Jérôme Foulon and created by Natalie Carter. Clémentine Célarié and Jordan Santoul lead, with Xavier Rothmann, Claudine Wilde and Émilie Delaunay in supporting roles in France.

There are no widely reported major awards or high-profile festival prizes associated with this TV film. It did, however, earn appreciation from some viewers for the performances of Clémentine Célarié and the young actor Jordan Santoul, and it resurfaces occasionally in online discussions about French television drama.

The supermarket scene and Olivier's tall tales are often the moments people remember, giving the film a quiet afterlife among fans of intimate French dramas. Its title and focus on storytelling have made it a talking point in small cinephile circles, and its gentle humor keeps it remembered.

Critical coverage is limited and online ratings are scarce but generally favorable, with a cited 8.0/10 from a solitary vote. The film looks at how stories shape identity, the awkwardness of single parent families, childhood imagination, and how others perceive social status, all delivered in a low-key, humane style.