Southwest France, 1962. Maité, Serge, and François are preoccupied with both high school graduations and the war in Algeria. At their boarding school or along the river, the trio passionately confront their different political views—and feelings for one another.

One of the great films made by the generation after the French New Wave, André Téchiné’s Wild Reeds, a four-time César winner, is a teenage drama electric with currents of sexuality and politics. The 1962 setting is precise (the Franco-Algerian war), yet the tensions live on into the 90s and today.