Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sexual coming of ager, May 27, 2003
The slightly loose and episodic feel of this charming coming-of-ager doesn't matter because the characters and the conflicts are so well presented that we are enthralled throughout.Three boys on the verge of manhood (with the French-Algerian conflict smoldering in the background) are in residence at a boarding school in the south of France in 1962. One is gay, the second is bi-sexual and the third is straight. Through their interactions we (and they) discover their sexuality. Francois Forestier, played attractively by Gael Morel, is gay as he discovers one night when Serge Bartolo (Stephane Rideau), an athletic schoolmate with a natural style, awakens his sexuality by seducing him. For Serge it is just a school age sexual adventure; for Francois it is love so intense he is transformed. The third boy, Henri Mariana, who is from Algeria, is a little older and a little more cynical. He finds heterosexual love with his enemy, Maité Alverez, who is a hated communist. Elodie Bouchez, whom I recall from The Dreamlife of Angels (1998) for which she shared a Cannes Best Actress award, plays Maité whose style is earnest, witty and brave. As it happens I was in France during the period of this film, and a teenager as well. The Algerian conflict haunted the young men because as soon as they were of age they could be sent away to fight. Also the Communist Party was strong in France and an attraction to some who opposed what they saw as French colonialism in Algeria and Vietnam. Director André Téchiné who characteristically explores human sexuality in his films (e.g., Rendez-Vous (1985) with a young and vital Juliette Binoche; Le lieu du crime (1986) with Catherine Deneuve; and Ma Saison Préférée (1993) also starring Catherine Deneuve) attempts to integrate these larger issues into his film but I don't think is entirely successful. Serge's older brother is killed in Algeria and his teacher blames herself for not helping him to escape his military service and suffers a nervous breakdown. However this story is not well-connected with the rest of the film. Also more could have been done with the divergent views of Maité and Henri. What I loved was the club scene where suddenly the French girls are twisting to Chubby Checker's "Let's Twist Again" which propelled me back to 1962 when indeed the Twist was all the rage in France. What makes this film superior is the warm and truthful way in which the sexual awakenings are realized. The kids seem absolutely real and the dialogue is sharp and authentic. Morel is very winning. I especially liked the earnest way he confronts and then accepts his sexuality. Interesting was the scene in which he seeks out the shoe salesman whom he knows is gay for his advice on how he should cope with unrequited homosexual love. This is a film about young people for open-minded adults attractively done. For many it will strike a strong cord of recognition.
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33 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful movie, Talented cast, May 26, 2000
This enagaging coming-of-age French movie revolves round a sort of unrequited/forbidden love triangle (or quadrangle?) between four adolescents at boarding school in southwest France. This 1994 multi-Cesar Awards winner made stars of its talented young cast, notably the two cute lead actors, Elodie Bouchez and Gael Morel. Who, like their characters here, are good friends also in real life and have worked together on a number of movies since. For me, the intimate-yet-platonic relationship as "best friends" Francois and Maite is really frustrating. As in my opinion they make such a cute couple. (Luckily, Gael and Elodie make amends for this by jumping into bed together in "Le Plus Bel Age", the film they acted in together after this one.) Anyway, by the end of this movie, you feel like you have grown up a little bit with these young teenagers, and a sense that their innocent age has passed by. The soundtrack is also nice, with Johann Strauss's Voices of Spring waltz, Barber's Adagio for Strings and some well-known 1960s American pop music. And thank goodness this video keeps the original French language soundtrack, especially as subtleties and expression of dialogue always get lost in translation.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
It goes where "Jules and Jim" didn't dare, March 15, 2004
One girl and three guys--it does J&J one better. I always wondered why Jules and Jim bothered with "the girl" at all when they were obviously one another's true soul mates. Although WILD REEDS is not a gay film, it does have one gay character who has a couple of classmates who seem to be either bisexual or open to experimentation. The four adolescent leads in this movie are struggling with their sense of being an outsider, which seems to be a universal for boys and girls, straights and gays alike. At the same time that they are trying to come to terms with their sexual natures, they are developing a sense of their place in the world. Each of them is affected by the political issues of their day (the war in Algeria), the struggle against authoritarian school teachers, and the expectations of their families. What I found appealing about the way the characters were portrayed and developed is that each one seems to receive equal treatment, has an equal share of grief and confusion, and is equally susceptible to normal human foibles. To wish that the story lines were more resolved at the end of the film would be to ask that this thoughtful little movie be something it was not meant to be--a splashy, big-budget Hollywood film totally ungrounded in human reality.
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