The video unfolds in a world that feels both nostalgic and strange, a washed-out version of the “sweet sixties,” where everything seems familiar, yet wrong. The central figure is a life-sized doll of Stromae, clumsily taking on the role of the father. Its awkward movements and inappropriate behavior embody the painful truth: this presence is no presence at all.

The set design plays a key role in this emotional landscape. The houses appear miniature, their cramped garages and child-height doors emphasizing the child’s vulnerability and confusion in the face of this absence. This clever manipulation of perspective creates a world where the boundaries of childhood imagination and the harshness of reality collide. Inside, the set designers used forced perspective to create an illusion of depth, drawing viewers into a surreal world where everything feels slightly off-center, just like the emotional state of the child in the song.

With its clever wordplay, Papaoutai resonates on a linguistic level as well. Stromae blends the phrase “Papa où t’es?”(“Dad, where are you?”) with the slang term “empapaouter,” meaning to fool someone, creating an evocative twist. This play on words, known as trompe-oreille, is a subtle yet powerful layer in a song that explores the emotional chaos of trying to understand and cope with loss. The video’s surreal imagery, paired with its unforgettable fusion of house, pop, and African rhythms, makes Papaoutai a poignant reflection on family, absence, and the longing for connection.