Sur le départ

More than anything, this medium-length film can be viewed as a very successful piece of publicity for the beautiful town in which it was filmed (Mont-de-Marsan in south-west France) with a story tacked on to give it a wider audience. As to that story, it is terribly slow in developing and the wait is boring. The two male leads, however, are very attractive, but I wish they could have spoken their parts with real conviction. Instead they utter them like schoolboys reciting the lesson they had to learn by heart for homework. As to the music, well I found it difficult to tolerate and often turned the sound down.

This is a sweet one hour film about two young men who start out as friends and later become more than that. It is also another examination of the differences between those who stay at home and those who go away. Here and there. I thought it was well balanced and well played and so I bought it. The photography is luscious and is cleverly compared to post cards that we see from time to time.