Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

BallWubba Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Jackson Booth-Millard I found out about this French film because I remember seeing the title in the numerous editions of the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, it was almost a contender in the Oscars category for Best Foreign Language Film, but it was nominated, I was looking forward to trying it. Basically set in southwest France in 1962, shy young man François Forestier (Gaël Morel) from the lower middle class is working towards his high school diploma. He spends most of time talking about movies and literature with his best friend Maïté Alvarez (Élodie Bouchez), whose mother Madame Alvarez (Michèle Moretti) is François's French teacher, she and her son are communists. At the boarding school, François becomes acquainted with immigrant farmers' son Serge Bartolo (Stéphane Rideau), they join in the dormitory at night for a chat and are drawn into an erotic relationship. François discovers his homosexuality and develops a deep attraction for Serge, who had only acted out of curiosity. Maïté is disappointed when he confides in her about his feelings, she encourages him to come out of the closet, Serge becomes increasingly interested in her, but Maïté is not interested in anybody. Serge's brother Pierre (Eric Kreikenmayer) dies while serving in the army in Algeria, and Maïté's mother suffers a nervous breakdown, then Algerian-born French exile Henri Mariani (Frédéric Gorny) aggravates boarding school and political conflicts. Henri is obsessed with events in Algeria and supports the OAS (Organisation armée secrete, meaning Secret Army Organisation), which opposes Algerian independence and defends the rights of French settlers there. Henri treats François with no sympathy and tells him bluntly to confess to his homosexuality, his political stance provokes Serge's hatred, Henri finally engages Maïté as they give in to their mutual attraction. Each character develops through the course of the film, repeatedly shifting from stubborn positions to more flexible appreciations of their circumstances. Also starring Jacques Nolot as Monsieur Morelli, Nathalie Vignes as Irène, Michel Ruhl as Monsieur Cassagne and Fatia Maite as Aicha Morelli. This is a complex story about war, class, sexuality and responsibility, I did find it hard to keep up with everything going on, but it was great to watch for the beautiful French countryside and other shimmering images, a worthwhile drama. Good!

lasttimeisaw 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.

ANightToRemember I've been a bit confused as to some other reviews I've seen on this site. Most call the film "beautiful" and a great realistic love story. In some cases they seem to right, but in other cases they aren't. Let's start with the plot: It's 1960's France, and we've got three guys at a boarding school. François (our main character), Serge (our main character's love interest/lust), and Henri (some kid with a radio). François is in some kind of borderline relationship with his best friend, Maïté. They're at a wedding of the older brother of Serge, even though we aren't totally sure who knows who and how they were invited there. I'll just assume that Maïté's mother, Madame Alvarez, somehow knows Serge's brother. Anyways they go through a horribly shot wedding (more on that later), then go. We get some dialog in which François claims Serge is "weird". Serge's older brother says something about being attracted to Madam Alvarez, and that she can help him get out of going to the war in Algeria. Oh, and he attempts to almost rape her, but don't worry: it's never brought up again.Anyways, Sergi seduces François one night, and it all goes from there. That kid with the radio is involved too, don't worry. Henri is apparently a Fascist from Algeria (strange, considering he's about as North African as a taco) who is always eager for news from there. It all goes from there, I don't want to give away too much.Okay, now let's start with my first problem: the cinematography. Some call it "beautiful" and it looks like "summer" and so "pure" all the time. Okay, no. It just sucks in this movie. NOTHING is unique about it. I could pick up a camera and make a movie in the same place with the same outdoor light, and it'd look so "artsy" to some. It is just... nothing. Nothing looks pretty, nothing looks unique. It's just average.And don't get me started on my main problem: the editing. The GODFORSAKEN EDITING. It's just awful. There are no transitions, at some points it seems to cut in mid-conversation. Let's use an example. At the beginning, there's a scene with Madam Alvarez is dancing with Serge's brother at his wedding. First of all, they are dancing incredibly quickly for a waltz, and they spin and spin and spin. We're with one camera angle (never cuts to another), so it's almost like both are trying to talk, but the other person continues to block them with their head. The scene ends with the two talking, only it's his shoulder covering half her face and his, well shoulder. It just looks terrible, almost unprofessional.A lot of elements seem tacked on. There's a whole sub plot with Madam Alvarez as well, with her going crazy over something (I'll leave it to you to see). Only there isn't a reason for it. At all. There isn't any resolution to her problem, no relation to our main characters, it's like they just wanted to add more drama, but it seems like two movies that were accidentally edited together when they should have been separate. The acting is quite good, though. They all seem to know their characters and do perfectly fine with what they have. I wouldn't mind seeing most of them in other films.But the direction that everyone calls "fantastic" isn't really that. Half the time the characters do things for no particular reason, leaving you wondering their motivations for half the things they do. While it isn't a bad movie, it isn't good. It's entertaining, but just an average piece of film. Nothing special. Go ahead and see it if you want to. By seeing it, you won't gain anything. By skipping it you won't miss anything.6/10

caspian1978 The ending sums up the entire movie. Exiting the Garden of Eden, these 3 strong, yet weak teenagers find themselves lost among the world. Sexually, they have somewhat of a clue what they want and don't like, but by the end of the movie, we are left with something of a complex conclusion. All three have an idea who they are. Even though they are still lost with no one to talk to, they find there way out of the Garden of Eden and back to the World where they belong. The movie ends with hope.