[3] François, a handsome young joiner working for his uncle, lives a comfortable and happy life with his pretty wife, Thérèse, a dressmaker, and their two children, Pierrot and Gisou.

Although deeply happy with his life and devoted to his wife and children, François falls for Émilie, an attractive single woman who works at the post office, has a flat of her own, and closely resembles Thérèse.

After spending some time in the countryside, where relatives care for the children, François returns to work and seeks out Émilie.

François' wife and children are played by Jean-Claude Drouot's real-life family in their only film appearances.

[4] In a 2019 tribute to Agnès Varda, Sheila Heti, AS Hamrah, and Jenny Chamarette included Le Bonheur among their favourite of Varda's films, with Charmarette claiming it as her favourite and describing it as "like nothing else: a horror movie wrapped up in sunflowers, an excoriating feminist diatribe strummed to the tune of a love ballad.