Eiffel
The government is asking Eiffel to design something spectacular for the 1889 Paris World Fair, but Eiffel simply wants to design the subway. Suddenly, everything changes when Eiffel crosses paths with a mysterious woman from Arun's past.
The film underperformed commercially against its respectable budget of $26.0M, earning $13.0M globally (-50% loss). While initial box office returns were modest, the film has gained appreciation for its bold vision within the biography genre.
1 win & 8 nominations
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Eiffel (2021) showcases carefully calibrated narrative architecture, characteristic of Martin Bourboulon's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 48 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.6, the film showcases strong structural fundamentals.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 2 minutes (2% through the runtime) establishes Gustave Eiffel is established as a successful but emotionally closed engineer, presenting his Panama Canal project. He is respected but solitary, haunted by a past he keeps hidden.. Notably, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 12 minutes when Eiffel is approached with the proposal to design a tower for the 1889 Paris Exposition. Initially he refuses, but the project stirs memories of Adrienne, disrupting his carefully controlled emotional distance.. At 11% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 26 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 24% of the runtime. This demonstrates the protagonist's commitment to Eiffel commits to designing the tower, accepting that he must confront his past to move forward. He begins sketching designs that are inspired by his memories of Adrienne, merging his emotional journey with his engineering vision., moving from reaction to action.
At 55 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Significantly, this crucial beat False defeat: In the past timeline, Adrienne is forced to marry another man due to social pressure and her father's machinations. In the present, opposition to the tower intensifies with public outcry and political resistance. Both timelines converge on loss and opposition., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 82 minutes (76% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Eiffel learns the full truth of Adrienne's death (the "whiff of death"), understanding that she never stopped loving him and that her tragic end was partly due to their separation. This revelation nearly destroys him emotionally, and the tower project faces potential cancellation., reveals the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 87 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 81% of the runtime. Breakthrough realization: Eiffel understands that the tower is not just engineering but art, not just ambition but love made manifest. He synthesizes his technical genius with his emotional truth, finding the strength to complete the tower as a monument to Adrienne and eternal love., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Eiffel's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs a 15-point narrative structure framework that maps key story moments. By mapping Eiffel against these established plot points, we can identify how Martin Bourboulon utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Eiffel within the biography genre.
Martin Bourboulon's Structural Approach
Among the 3 Martin Bourboulon films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 7.1, reflecting strong command of classical structure. Eiffel represents one of the director's most structurally precise works. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Martin Bourboulon filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional biography films include Lords of Dogtown, Ip Man 2 and A Complete Unknown. For more Martin Bourboulon analyses, see The Three Musketeers: Milady, The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Gustave Eiffel is established as a successful but emotionally closed engineer, presenting his Panama Canal project. He is respected but solitary, haunted by a past he keeps hidden.
Theme
A character remarks that "great structures require great passion" or similar sentiment about how true creation comes from the heart, not just calculation - foreshadowing Eiffel's need to reconnect with his lost love to create his masterpiece.
Worldbuilding
We learn about Eiffel's world: his engineering brilliance, his troubled Panama project, his distant relationship with his daughter Claire. Flashbacks begin introducing young Eiffel and the mysterious Adrienne Bourgès, establishing the dual timeline structure.
Disruption
Eiffel is approached with the proposal to design a tower for the 1889 Paris Exposition. Initially he refuses, but the project stirs memories of Adrienne, disrupting his carefully controlled emotional distance.
Resistance
Eiffel debates whether to take on the tower project. Flashbacks deepen, showing his passionate young romance with Adrienne and how society and her father opposed their union. He resists reopening old wounds but is drawn forward by the vision of what the tower could be.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Eiffel commits to designing the tower, accepting that he must confront his past to move forward. He begins sketching designs that are inspired by his memories of Adrienne, merging his emotional journey with his engineering vision.
Mirror World
The relationship with his daughter Claire deepens as she begins to understand her father's hidden past. She becomes the thematic mirror, representing the love and connection Eiffel denied himself, and helps him process his grief.
Premise
The promise of the premise: watching Eiffel design and begin construction of the iconic tower while flashbacks reveal the full scope of his romance with Adrienne. Engineering brilliance interweaves with passionate love, showing how the tower becomes a monument to both ambition and lost love.
Midpoint
False defeat: In the past timeline, Adrienne is forced to marry another man due to social pressure and her father's machinations. In the present, opposition to the tower intensifies with public outcry and political resistance. Both timelines converge on loss and opposition.
Opposition
Pressure mounts from all sides: artists and intellectuals protest the tower as an eyesore, funding becomes uncertain, construction faces technical challenges. The flashbacks reveal Adrienne trapped in her marriage, and Eiffel learning of her fate. His emotional pain threatens to derail the project.
Collapse
Eiffel learns the full truth of Adrienne's death (the "whiff of death"), understanding that she never stopped loving him and that her tragic end was partly due to their separation. This revelation nearly destroys him emotionally, and the tower project faces potential cancellation.
Crisis
Eiffel processes his grief and guilt, confronting the darkness of lost love and missed chances. He must decide whether to abandon the tower or find meaning in completing it as a tribute to Adrienne and what they shared.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Breakthrough realization: Eiffel understands that the tower is not just engineering but art, not just ambition but love made manifest. He synthesizes his technical genius with his emotional truth, finding the strength to complete the tower as a monument to Adrienne and eternal love.
Synthesis
Eiffel rallies support and completes the tower construction against all odds. The finale shows the tower rising over Paris, vindicated as the critics fall silent before its beauty. Eiffel reconciles with his past, honors Adrienne's memory, and reconnects emotionally with his daughter.
Transformation
Final image mirrors the opening but transformed: Eiffel stands atop his completed tower, no longer emotionally closed but open and at peace. The tower stands as proof that passion and engineering, love and ambition, can create something eternal. He has honored his love and found redemption.