The film follows four families, with different nationalities (French, German, Russian and American) but with the same passion for music, from the 1930s to the 1960s. The various story lines cross each other time and again in different places and times, with their own theme scores that evolve as time passes. The main event in the film is the Second World War, which throws the stories of the four musical families together and mixes their fates. Although all characters are fictional, many of them are loosely based on historical musical icons (Édith Piaf, Josephine Baker, Herbert von Karajan, Glenn Miller, Rudolf Nureyev, etc.) The Boléro dance sequence at the end brings all the threads together.
Robert Hossein
Nicole Garcia
Geraldine Chaplin
Daniel Olbrychski
Jorge Donn
Rita Poelvoorde
Macha Méril
Évelyne Bouix
Francis Huster
Raymond Pellegrin
Paul Préboist
Jean-Claude Brialy
Marthe Villalonga
Fanny Ardant
Jean-Claude Bouttier
Richard Bohringer
Nicole Croisille
Ginette Garcin
Jean-Pierre Kalfon
Geneviève Mnich
Alexandra Stewart
Éva Darlan
Manuel Gélin
Candice Patou
Maïa Simon
James Caan
Sarah Abrell
Féodor Atkine
Mireille Audibert
Jean-Claude Bourbault
Christophe Bourseiller
Jean-Pierre Castaldi
Anne Caudry
Louise Chevalier
Véronique Coquet
Thérèse Crémieux
Katalin Csarny
Dan Daes
Nicole Daresco
Andrée Delair
Linda Dingwall
Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu
Maxime Dufeu
Andy Fenwick
Farmer Fuller
Ernie Garrett
Charles Gérard
Evelyne Hue
Gérard Ismaël
Philippe Jacques
Lyle Joyce
Jacques Villeret
Valérie Quennessen
Sharon Stone