A great anthropologist of the body unveils the mysteries behind one of the most beautiful of human actions: the smile.

David Le Breton continues his anthropology of the body in an even more refined and literary way. Here, only lived experiences and quotes from writers, filmmakers, or painters that describe on the spot hundreds of smiles that hide contradictory meanings. This anthropology of the enigmatic touches upon social conventions and interactions, but also our true and naïve spirituality that helps us to both exist within and resist the world, and to communicate ourselves to others.