Les roseaux sauvages (1994)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

André Téchiné

Writers:

Olivier Massart (writer)
Gilles Taurand (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

10 May 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

In a village in the Southwest of France, 1962. Maite and Francois are 18 years old. They are friends...

Plot Keywords:

Friend | Algeria | Homosexual | Classroom | Sunflower

Awards:

8 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Élodie Bouchez	...	Maïté Alvarez
Gaël Morel	...	François Forestier
Stéphane Rideau	...	Serge Bartolo
Frédéric Gorny	...	Henri Mariani
Michèle Moretti	...	Madame Alvarez
Jacques Nolot	...	Monsieur Morelli
Eric Kreikenmayer	...	Pierre Bartolo, the Groom
Nathalie Vignes	...	Irène, the Bride
Michel Ruhl	...	Monsieur Cassagne
Fatia Maite	...	Aicha Morelli
Claudine Taulère	...	Nurse
Elodie Soulinhac	...	Colette, Girl at Party
Dominique Bovard	...	Guard
Monsieur Simonet	...	Guard
Chief Officer Carre	...	Officer
Paul Simonet	...	Monsieur Bartolo
Charles Picot	...	Headmaster
Christophe Maitre	...	Gym Instructor
Bordes Fernand Raouly	...	Madame Bartolo
Michel Voisin	...	Justice of the Peace
Denis Bergonhe	...	Gas Station Attendant

Directed by
André Téchiné

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Olivier Massart		writer
Gilles Taurand		writer
André Téchiné		writer

Produced by
Georges Benayoun	....	producer
Chantal Poupaud	....	associate producer
Paul Rozenberg	....	associate producer
Alain Sarde	....	producer

Cinematography by
Jeanne Lapoirie

Film Editing by
Martine Giordano

Casting by
Jacques Grant
Michel Nasri

Production Design by
Pierre Soula

Set Decoration by
Pierre Soula

Costume Design by
Elisabeth Tavernier

Makeup Department
Marie-Lou Dorion	....	assistant hair stylist
Marie-Lou Dorion	....	assistant makeup artist
Youssef Ferhat	....	key hair stylist
Youssef Ferhat	....	key makeup artist

Production Management
Jean-Jacques Albert	....	production manager
Olivier Garabedian	....	assistant unit manager
Fabien Pondevaux	....	assistant production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Denis Bergonhe	....	assistant director
Anne-Isabelle Estrada	....	second assistant director
Jean-Pascal Hattu	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Leonardo Haertling	....	property master
Agnès Lévy	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Yunus Acar	....	boom operator
François Groult	....	sound
Pierre Lorrain	....	sound
Jean-Luc Marino	....	sound editor
Jean-Paul Mugel	....	sound
Brigitte Taillandier	....	sound assistant
Bruno Tarrière	....	sound mixer
Véronique Tiron	....	sound assistant

Camera and Electrical Department
Thomas Bataille	....	second assistant camera
Germain Desmoulins	....	camera operator
Claude Raymond Ditivon	....	still photographer
Aleksander Kaufmann	....	first assistant camera

Editorial Department
Catherine Schwartz	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Christel Grossenbacher	....	production secretary
Claudine Taulère	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Ima Films (co-production)
• Les Films Alain Sarde (co-production)
• Canal+ (participation)
• IMA Productions (in association with) (as Ima Productions)
• La Sept-Arte (in association with) (as La Sept / Arte)
• Société Française de Production (SFP) (in association with) (as Sfp production)
• Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC) (participation)

Distributors

• Pan Européenne Distribution (1994) (France) (theatrical)
• Studio Canal (2006) (France) (DVD)
• Strand Releasing (1995) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Fox Lorber Home Video (1997) (USA) (DVD) (subtitled)
• Kinokuniya (2002) (Japan) (DVD)
• Vértigo Films (Spain)
• Vídeo Arte (Brazil) (video)

Other Companies

• Auditel  sound editing
• Car Grip Films  grip
• Chevereau  camera equipment provided by
• D.C.A.  sound transfer
• Kodak  color
• Les Audis Jackson  auditorium
• Microfilms  titles and opticals
• Pyral  sound stock
• S.G.A.C. Bellan  insurance (as SGAC BELLAN & Cie)
• Studio Lincoln  post-synchronisation

Also Known As:

The Wild Reeds (International: English title) (festival title)
Wild Reeds (USA)

Runtime:

110 min | UK:115 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | USA:Not Rated | Germany:12 | Portugal:M/16 | Spain:13 | UK:15

Company:

Ima Films

Trivia:

Stéphane Rideau and Gaël Morel have worked together in two films: Les roseaux sauvages (1994) and Loin (2001). Also, Gaël Morel has directed Stéphane Rideau in four films: La vie à rebours (1994), À toute vitesse (1996), Premières neiges (1999) (TV) and Le clan (2004).

Quotes:

Serge Bartolo: The death of a brother is tough. I thought I'd die. But there is something even tougher, tougher than war. It's that life goes on.

Movie Connections:

Version of "Tous les garçons et les filles de leur âge...: Le chêne et le roseau (#1.1)" (1994)

Soundtrack:

Frühlingsstimmen (Voices of Spring)

Refreshing and subtle

I liked the movie even if I was left with the feeling that there was no real end to it (a common thing in French movies). It was superbly acted by four young comedians perfectly cast. The relations between them are ambiguous. Still, more depth could have been given to their characters and the story.

Nevertheless, there is an overall subtlety to the movie, something that makes it light even if the topics are not always light (Francois discovers he is gay and have some problems dealing with it, Henri is a pied noir in France at the end of the Algeria war and is in a delicate situation, not speaking about Serge who loses his brother to that same war and Maite who is somewhat oppressed by her mother who is a die hard communist militant).

It was very refreshing to see. You need to be familiar with the history of Algeria war and the tensions of that time though to fully follow. A film I would recommend to many people.