Louise (Pascale Ogier) is a slender, attractive young woman who works as a trainee in a design firm in Paris and lives in a suburban apartment with her athletic and possessive lover Remi (Tcheky Karyo). The central problem in their relationship is other people. Louise enjoys parties; Remi does not. She wants more "freedom"; he only wants to be with her.
Full Moon in Paris is the fourth in French film director Eric Rohmer's series of "Comedies and Proverbs" in which he probes the cycles, permutations and mysteries of love and desire. An epigram serves as the framework for the drama: "He who has two women loses his soul. He who has two houses loses his mind."
To keep their relationship alive, Louise tells Remi that she has set up an overnight apartment in Paris. This will enable her to keep in touch with her friends and enjoy the social life n the city on Friday evenings. Remi feels slighted and angered by her decision; he cannot understand how this experiment will strengthen their love for each other. Meanwhile, Louise cavorts with Octave (Fabrice Luchini), a married writer who is enchanted with her beauty and elusiveness. He doesn't approve of Remi and wants her to be more than his platonic girlfriend. Feeling hemmed in by Octave, Louise turns to Bastien (Christian Vadim), a young rock musician. After a one-night stand with him, he is more confused than ever about her identity and loyalties.
Full Moon in Paris enables Rohmer to pose some very significant questions which cut to the heart of the anatomy of love. Is "freedom" a fools' paradise? Can distance make the heart grow fonder in a love relationship? What does suspicion do to desire? Can a man and a woman be friends without sex entering into the relationship? Rohmer's psychodrama about Louise, Remi and Octave challenges us to explore our own feelings about eros, jealousy, union and loss.