AllMovie

In this Kafkaesque look at the injustices of modern life, Tres Bien, Merci follows an accountant named Alex who catches the eye of authorities for the minor infraction of lighting up his cigarette just a few feet shy of the smoking area near the subway. Guards force him to pay an exorbitant fine, but Alex's breaking of minor rules earns an even more disproportionately harsh punishment when police throw him in jail overnight simply for loitering to watch an I.D. check being performed on a young couple. As things become maddeningly more absurd, he's later imprisoned in a mental institution simply for rationally pleading his defense. Throughout Tres Bien, Merci, Alex's excruciatingly lucid state of mind contrasts with the increasingly insane reactions of authority figures, illustrating the indignities of society.