It is sometime during the 21st century. Famine rages. Cities are plagued by roving bands of vegetarians called Troglodytes, who attack people and steal their beans, which serve as money on the surface but as food underground. Everyone is starving, except the inhabitants of an apartment building run by Clapet (Jean-Claude Dreyfus), a man who also runs a deli. The food? Well, Clapet hires fix-it guys, kills them, and sells them to his patrons. An opening sequence sets up the mood of the film. The present fix-it guy (billed as "Tried to escape" in the credits), holed up in his room and terrified of being eaten, wraps himself in garbage and hides in a trash bin, hoping to be taken out to freedom. When the bin seems too heavy, the cleaver-wielding butcher removes the top, revealing the terrified eyes of the fix-it guy. The butcher cackles, raises his cleaver, and the next day his store is packed with clients.

The new fix-it guy, a former clown named Louison (Dominique Pinon), moves in, and falls instantly in love with Clapet's near-sighted daughter Julie (Marie-Loure Dougnac). She loves him too, and doesn't want daddy to kill him, to which he replies, "You loved the others too. How long did that last?" She is determined, especially after they make beautiful music together (she on the cello, he on a musical saw, with a symphony of creaks and groans from the other tenants provided through the system of pipes that serve as communication). She decides to save him by selling her father out to the Troglodytes, who think the above-grounders to be, well, cannibals.

The building is populated with a myriad of interesting and visually stimulating people. One woman is obsessed with killing herself, but her plans keep getting foiled. A man lives in the basement in a foot of water, surrounded with thousands of snails and frogs, which he eats. Two brothers manufacture toys that make a mooing sound. Why? Why not? I can't say it makes a heck of a lot of sense, but this movie looks really, really good.

Stylistically, the film is influenced by Terry Gilliam's Brazil, and probably served as an influence for Gilliam's 12 Monkeys. The filmmakers value style over substance, and this film proves that it is not necessarily a bad thing.