Wild Reeds

Against the background of a hot French summer and the even more distant backdrop of the war in Algeria, a young French boy’s gay nature blossoms.

At school François is approaching the start of a long hot summer and reaching the end of his school career. He is a retiring boy who dislikes youth in general and his contemporaries in particular. He would rather settle down with a book. His only contact with the outside world is the young Maïté, who enjoys her still innocent life to the full, unlike François. The two are like brother and sister, ‘wild roses’, and are characterized by the innocence that marks many others in Téchiné’s films – the film had almost could have been called ‘Les Innocents’. François shares his room with the sturdy Serge, who is proud of his peasant origins. François is fascinated by him, but cannot place his fascination. One day Henri comes to school and his arrival disrupts the everyday peace. Henri brings with him the ‘scandal’, awakens passions and causes lots of disorder. He is a son of a French family that has emigrated from Africa and since the independence of Algeria, he regards the French as a bunch of cowards, especially the communists. Henri believes that Algerian independence is treachery and everyone who defends that process is easy prey for him. Where others only hear a vague rumour, he alone feels the internal conflict in history. As the film progresses, tension rises between François, Serge and Henri. –IFFR