Consisting of a fable-like story, primarily displaying a warm tone,[1][2] and set in an idyllic countryside location during the transition to the Second Spanish Republic, the film features Jorge Sanz, Maribel Verdú, Ariadna Gil, Penélope Cruz, Miriam Díaz Aroca, Fernando Fernán Gómez, Gabino Diego and Chus Lampreave, among others.

Fernando, a deserting private with Republican leanings and former seminarist, is on the run from his assignment at the Cuatro Vientos base.

After escaping from two Guardia Civil officers, he reaches the outskirts of a village, befriending Manolo, an old man with a semblance of a "Dickensian observer of life".

With each one, however, a complication arises: Clara, a widow who only recently lost her husband and who seeks solace with Fernando; Violeta, a closeted lesbian who showed attraction for Fernando only when she saw him dressed as a woman for a costume ball, and the day after tells him that it was insignificant;[5] and Rocío, a social climber who is about to marry Juanito and into the village's richest family (with Carlist leanings) for the security it would provide, and who only momentarily succumbs to Fernando's charms.

A Spanish-Portuguese-French co-production, Belle Époque was produced by Fernando Trueba PC, Lola Films, Animatógrafo, and French Production with the collaboration of Sogepaq and Eurimages.