Louise Legrand (Virginie Efira) is the widowed owner of a pear orchard with two kids, Emma (Lucie Fagedet) and Félix (Léo L'orléac'h). While driving, she accidentally hits Pierre (Benjamin Lavernhe), a man with Asperger's on the run from a psychological evaluation. Pierre ends up staying with the Legrands. As she gets to know Pierre, Louise also meets Jules (Hervé Pierre), the owner of the bookstore where Pierre previously lived and worked.
The Sense of Wonder contains examples of:
- Character Tics: Pierre rubs his fingers together and runs his hands along objects he passes, especially plants.
- Desk Sweep of Rage: When Louise absentmindedly grabs a hot pan from the oven with her bare hands, she screams "MERDE!" and knocks a bowl off the counter, and then cries from stress.
- Fence Painting: Louise's friend Paul (Laurent Bateau) suggests going into ecotourism, which involves letting customers pay for the privilege of doing farm work.
- Flowers of Romance: Pierre expresses his developing interest in Louise by buying 37 bouquets of flowers, one for each year that she's been alive.
- Hates Being Touched: Pierre pulls away whenever anyone tries to touch him. He cleans the cut on his head himself because he won't let Louise do it.
- Limited Wardrobe: Pierre always wears a suit.
- Look Both Ways: Pierre bolts into the road without looking, causing him to get hit. He is lucky enough to only get a cut on his head.
- Magical Computer: Pierre can do things with his laptop that aren't really possible in real life, like make the fire sprinklers go off in a nightclub.
- Neat Freak: Pierre tidies up any space he's in. During his first night at the Legrands', he cleans and organizes the living room before he goes to sleep.
- Scenery Porn: There are many shots of Louise's orchard and the beautiful French countryside surrounding it.
- Smart People Play Chess: Pierre plays chess with Jules. When Jules is busy, he plays chess with himself.
- Struggling Single Mother: With her husband gone, Louise struggles to keep the orchard afloat and take care of the kids. It doesn't help that the central buying office refuses to pay back money it owes Louise, and she doesn't have her husband's knack for getting people to do what she wants.
- That Cloud Looks Like...: Thanks to Pierre's synesthesia, the shape and color of clouds reminds him of numbers.
- Time Lapse: Used often in shots of clouds, especially from Pierre's perspective.
- Tragic Keepsake: Louise wears her husband's scarf, and buries her face in it when she's feeling sad.
