Surviving Picasso is a story of the most prominent artist of the 20th century and of a young woman, Francoise, an aspiring artist. Early in the film, Picasso immediately responds to her beauty when she first meets her in a café and invites her to visit his studio. Francoise, with no second thoughts, charmed by Picasso’s appearance but also by his fame, accepts his offer and the movie goes on to document their 10 year affair, when Francoise was 23 and Picasso in his middle 60’s. Picasso is utterly fascinated by Francoise’s beauty and self-assurance, but still keeps in touch with his former mistresses, the apathetic Marie-Therese, mother of his daughter Maya, and the dynamic Dora Maar, another painter whose feelings for him have brought her to a psychological crisis. A third woman in Picasso’s life is Olga, the former Russian dancer, mother of his son Paolo and first woman to have become Picasso’s wife, who however has been driven to actual madness and only brings trouble to the painter’s present life. Picasso however, seems to get uninterested in these women when he meets Francoise and she, although annoyed by their presence, has no other choice but to accept who Picasso is. 
The film shows Francoise’s life to be initially exciting, despite the hard person she lives with, as Picasso introduces her to great art and great artists as Matisse. She learns from him and appreciates his contribution to her creativity and her forming a personal style. The romance that grew brought to Francoise more passion and tenderness to her life that she could have expected but also brought anguish and disappointment as she had to survive with a man who was demanding, domineering and unfaithful She had to put up with his unpredictable moods, his shocking sense of humor and his strong character. Together they have two children and divide their time between the South of France and Paris, where Picasso spends most of his time towards the end of their affair. Constantly inundated by his other women and his inability to be satisfied with only one love, Picasso’s relationship with Francoise starts to corrupt. She tries her best to keep her lover close to her and save her relationship, but the end comes when a new woman, Jaqueline, becomes his new mistress. Francoise realizes that the only way to become happy again is to leave Picasso. By doing so therefore, she becomes the only woman to abandon the painter but also the only woman to “survive”. This fact strikes Picasso who was only used to abandoning his mistresses, and tries to get her back. But it is too late; Francoise strong character and brilliant mind helps her give an end to a never-ending torture and agony she felt beside him.
Picasso role is played by Anthony Hopkins, who was given a dark tan and Francoise by Natascha McElhone. In the movie, Francoise is frequently the narrator of the events. Besides Picasso’s relationship to his former mistresses and his latter one, Jacqueline, we see his relationship with the artist Matisse, one of the few people who Picasso secretly admired, but also his relationship with his long time friend and assistant Sebartes, who took care of his business affairs. Finally, the film is a great proof of Picasso’s intense character and his forceful impact not only on his mistresses but also on the entire world.