[2] The film follows Florence, played by Corinne Marchand, a young singer known professionally as "Cléo Victoire", from 5 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. on June 21, as she waits to hear the results of a biopsy that will possibly confirm a diagnosis of stomach cancer.

While distraught from her visit to the fortune teller, Cléo meets her maid, Angèle, at a café and recounts the results of the tarot card reading.

On the ride home, one of Cléo's songs plays, and they listen to the radio, hearing news coverage of the Algerian War.

Her lover, a very busy man, tells her that he only has time to stop by for a kiss and cannot go on a vacation with her, but will try to take her out on Friday night.

Bob and Maurice pretend to be doctors after Angèle tells them that Cléo is ill, because "all women like a good joke."

As they practice, Cléo's mood quickly darkens after singing the song "Sans toi", which she interprets as ridiculing her fear of death.

On the way, Cléo tells Dorothée that she is waiting for a test result and afraid of being terminally ill. At the cinema, they watch a silent comedy film from the projection booth, featuring Jean-Luc Godard and Anna Karina.

In the film, Karina topples over a hose pipe and dies, leaving behind a grieving Godard, but after he takes off his sunglasses, realising that it was only his dark glasses which made the events appear upsetting, the scene repeats in a much lighter tone.

In the park, Antoine, a soldier on leave from the Algerian War, addresses Cléo and tells her that June 21 is the longest day of the year.

The website's critical consensus reads: "Cléo from 5 to 7 represents a beautifully filmed highlight of the French New Wave that encapsulates the appeal of the era while departing from its narrative conventions.