This film has been hailed by many critics as one of the greatest films of all time. Jean, captain of the canal barge L'Atalante, has a new wife, Juliette. The couple embark together on the barge. Tensions arise on the trip. Arriving in Paris, Jean and Juliette go to a music club where they meet a street peddler who flirts with Juliette leading to a scuffle with Jean. Enamored with the lights of Paris, Juliette runs off. Jean, furious, casts off, leaving her behind. He becomes very depressed so that first mate Jules decides to look for her and bring her back.