L'età acerba

On all fronts WILD REEDS is a top-notch drama - offering a look into the lives of 4 teenagers at a boarding school in rural France in the early 60s, this film is complex and immaculately well-made. Unusual in films depicting adolescence, WILD REEDS is complex and sophisticated, respectful of its' characters' varying sexualities (and their struggles to accept same), while also offering other glimpses of their intelligence and growing independence: views on the Algerian war, which was then raging, and on communism (with one character defined as communist, and another as an ardent anti-communist). The lush cinematography is summery and beautiful throughout, and the cast (most whom have gone on to other notable films) is great throughout.

Techine's direction gives the many strands of this story a great, personal feel - the shoe store scene stands out as an honest depiction of an individual recognizing and trying to accept his sexuality, and attempting to identify other gay people, as a way of lessening isolation, and in an attempt at spontaneously finding some sort of role model. Very thoughtful and very well-made.

It is absolutely impossible to make a film like this one without carrying out the personal memories of an our own teenage time. That's why this so called 'teenage movie' is so far away from all other experiences within this field. Téchiné had written and directed a part of his own life. Villeneuve-sur-Lot, Paris, Lisbon, who cares? This is the movie of my life. And if it is so, it's not only because of the unexpected beauty of all frames on the movie, but, essentially because that I felt every inch of the road walked by the characters of this film, as if their experiences, a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, were my own teenage experiences and hopes. I saw this film ten years ago, and still I can remember every image, every phrase... And I kept these memories as a guideline for a future life, when I was 23 years old. I know what I have lived, I still don't know what the future reserves to me. But, on those days, ten years ago, I have increased my hope. I found that there was people like me, and like the others around me... The time and the place doesn't matter. No film will never make me feel so strongly about my youth, and, simultaneously, about my future as a man. This is not a 'teenage movie', it's a collection of memories about the construction of our personality. And, we all, with that age, were a little bit of François, Serge, Henri and Maite. And we still are. (...I'm sorry about my English...)

WILD REEDS is my introductory piece to André Téchiné's cinematic dominion, its title refers to famous fable THE OAK AND THE REED, and it is an adolescent quartet in 1962 France, against the backdrop of the twilight of Algerian War and the demise of French colonization.

Everyone thinks 18-year-old high-schoolers Françoise (Morel) and Maïté (Bouchez) are an item, even Maïté, who is deeply influenced by her mother Madame Alvarez's (Moretti) communist slant, thinks so, they are so compatible and intimate together, although so far the relationship has been purely platonic, it is only a matter of time before it turns physical.

Françoise is a lean and feeble boy, from a petit bourgeois family, he cannot do sports (swimming is an exception) by virtue of his heart condition, he knows Maïté is his soul mate, but they can never be lovers, after he is sexually aroused by his rural classmate Serge (Rideau), son of a farmer with Italian lineage and whose elder brother would later fall in battle at the front line (after being unwillingly transported back to Algeria since Madame Alvarez refuses to offer a helping hand). A boarding school bromance is burgeoning, they become close friends and Françoise comes out to Maïté, she calmly accepts it with sincere encouragement, meanwhile for Serge, his tryout with Françoise is more or less out of a young boy's curiosity, in fact, he is more interested in Maïté, who abstains form his courtship in light of Françoise.

Thankfully, it is not a clichéd love triangle, instead it is a more dynamic quartet, the fourth force comes from Henri (Gorny), an Algerian-born French exile who is newly transferred to the class, he has lost his father in the war and becomes extremely cynical to the mainland bourgeois class (who is apathetic to the end of Algeria's colonization) and hostile to the radical leftists and communists (who are in favor of Algeria's independence). He is the alien, brings a radio in the class, picks on Serge and provokes Françoise for his sexuality, openly defies his teacher Madama Alvarez and reluctantly to accept the help from Monsieur Morelli (Nolot), until finally decides to drop out before the exam and by coincidence, meets Maïté in the communist headquarter in the still of the night, where her kindness thaws his malicious intention.

Eventually all four gather together for an excursion near the riverside with wild reeds waving around, as they let off their most honest and profound feelings, it is also a siren call to culminate the rite-of-passage of their blazing youth. The ultimate take of a 360 degree shot sterlingly singles out the lush atmosphere with a meaningful punchline, a lyrical rendition of the precious moments in one's adolescence, feeling love, experiencing heartbreak, accepting disappointment and facing an unknown future.

Téchiné magnificently teases out impressive and heartfelt performances from these four young actors, Morel, Bouchez and Gorny all rush into the top 10 tier of my yearly rank. Morel is unpolished but a pitch perfect choice for Françoise's sensitivity and integrity; Bouchez is a legitimate sensation, her Maïté, undergoes the choppiest emotional journey in the film, is utterly compelling in every frame; Gorny is detestable at first, then segues into a more sympathetic character thanks to his unfettering ire and the flitting touchiness for a wounded soul. Rideau's Serge, is offered less material to chew on apart from his jock virility, but his unaffected detachment denotes an alternative psyche in the society which hardly changes.

WILD REEDS is an intimately potent prose on how a controversial political situation can erode and alter the mindset of a young generation. Remarkably, it never begin to pall from its poetic aesthetics and robust narrative. It is deservingly a capstone in Téchiné's staunch career orbit.

This was a really sensitive and perceptive story about growing up and some of the pain and confusion that goes along with that. The movie is quite quiet and doesn't feel the need to comment on everything as so many American movies do. It is the story of four young French people growing up in Provence in France in the 60s and one of the boys has a homo-erotic experience and thinks that the other boy with whom he has the experience must have enjoyed it. The other boy regrets the experience that he had and when his brother dies in the war in Algeria, he feels obliged to support his family and so declines to pursue any sort of homosexual relationship. He wants to live a respectable sort of life and doesn't want to cause any trouble. The young gay boy is very confused but is a good friend to the teacher's daughter. They enjoy dancing and seeing films and learning about various things. The girl ends up falling for a rather lazy young man who has very different political views than herself. The movie is beautifully filmed and very relaxed and slow. It is a nice reflective movie on the nature of youth and some of the struggles that kids go through. The kids handle the struggles in the typical manner of kids. Sometimes they don't handle them very well and other times they show remarkable grace and common sense. But all in all it is a wonderfully gimmick free movie which really shows how difficult it is to be a kid in any place and at any time. I would really recommend this movie to people.

How do teenagers grow-up? Andre Techine's camera gives us a cool and respectful view into their emotions. Elodie Bouchez, playing sixteen-year-old Maite, in particular, projects emotion with a quiet dignity. It is remarkable how much is going on while the film seems so quiet. Maybe it is the durability of French countryside that calms the children and us.

The children realistically explore their budding sexuality with all dimensions treated in a straightforward and sensitive manner. The children await the results of their baccalaureate exam, the culmination of French High School education and the key to their professional lives. The natural developmental and educational issues that teenagers face are compounded by the turbulence of the times. And what turbulence surrounds these children! A violent, unpopular, and un-winable war to retain colonial ownership of Algeria strikes directly into this small French village as one child looses his brother and another his homeland. The latter plans bloody revenge against those whom he believes betrayed France until he realizes that Maite, a girl he loves, would be his target. Maite's mother is overwhelmed by guild and institutionalized by fear that her lack of action may have led to the brother's death.

Oh, and there is some great American rock and roll that somehow fits in; it must be that enduring French countryside.