Character Relationship Map: Things to Come

Characters

• Nathalie Chazeaux (played by Isabelle Huppert) — protagonist

  Nathalie is a philosophy teacher at a Parisian high school who treats teaching as a way of living and thinking. She encourages students to think independently through philosophical debate, while balan...

• Heinz (played by André Marcon) — protagonist

  Heinz is Nathalie's husband and part of the established family life that surrounds her teaching career, children, and responsibilities toward her mother. His decision to leave Nathalie is one of the s...

• Fabien (played by Roman Kolinka) — supporting

  Fabien is one of Nathalie's two grown children. He belongs to the family network that exists alongside her work as a philosophy teacher and her obligations toward her mother. Although the summary does...

• Antonia (played by Lina Benzerti) — supporting

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Nathalie Chazeaux → Antonia (Professional Teacher And Student) — Their connection is shown through the school protest, where Nathalie challenges the students' arguments while Antonia is among those blocked from entering.

  Nathalie is a philosophy teacher, and Antonia is among the students kept from entering during the school protest. Nathalie argues with the protesting...

• Nathalie Chazeaux → Fabien (Family Mother And Son) — Fabien shares his plans and personal choices with Nathalie, while she confides in him about her separation.

  Fabien is identified as one of Nathalie's two grown children. He visits her, discusses his activism and plans to move away, and she tells him about he...

• Nathalie Chazeaux → Heinz (Family Wife And Husband Separated) — Heinz's decision to leave ends their long marriage and disrupts Nathalie's established family life.

  Nathalie tells Fabien that she and Heinz are separating after 25 years together because Heinz has found another woman.

Story Analysis

After changes in her marriage, work, and family responsibilities, Nathalie continues to pursue an intellectually independent life.

Plot Progression

1. Teaching Against the Current — Nathalie faces a school protest while continuing her work as a philosophy teacher. At home, her mother's distress and her parents' sharp exchanges add pressure to her responsibilities.
2. A Different Future Beckons — Fabien tells Nathalie about his activism and his plan to leave Paris for a remote farm. Nathalie reveals that Heinz is leaving their marriage, forcing her to consider life after a long-established par...
3. Work and Separation Unravel — Nathalie's professional prospects weaken as publishers question or end projects. Her discovery that Heinz has taken books containing her notes adds another painful dispute to their separation, while s...
4. Imagination and Continuance — A year later, Nathalie visits a household with a newborn, where light-hearted conversation turns emotional. In class, she describes imagination as a source of hope and comfort, and the film ends with...