Le mogli e le arance is characterized by a wonderful sereneness. It is the kind of quietude which many of us connect immediately with the south. Everything seems to be in its perfect place, and time is just passing. In the setting of a sanatorium a nobleman is practicing idleness and slow-motion mind games. Does it sound boring? Yes, it does. But it is not, the uneventfulness is definitively enthralling. The film director tries to narrate time, time itself, as such, for its own sake: a rare experiment.

Marcel, un joven dandy aburrido, siguiendo el consejo del médico, va a un balneario donde hace amistad con un barón que siempre aparece con chicas jóvenes y alegres. Un día, el barón le cuenta una leyenda local, según la cual Dios habría puesto en una naranja a las dos personas destinadas al matrimonio. A Marcel le impacta esta historia y comienza a buscar a su media naranja. Durante una fiesta, conoce a la tímida Caterinetta y finalmente descubre el amor.