Wild Reeds

Starring:Ã‰lodie Bouchez, GaÃ«l Morel, StÃ©phane Rideau, FrÃ©dÃ©ric Gorny, MichÃ¨le Moretti, Jacques Nolot, Eric Kreikenmayer, Nathalie Vignes, Michel Ruhl, Fatia Maite, Claudine TaulÃ¨re, Elodie Soulinhac, Dominique Bovard, Monsieur Simonet, Chief Officer Carre, Paul Simonet, Charles Picot, Christophe Maitre, Bordes Fernand Raouly, Michel Voisin
Director: AndrÃ© TÃ©chinÃ©
Studio: Fox Lorber
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

This resonant, engrossing 1994 film by André Téchiné (Thieves) is an unusual coming-of-age story set at a French boarding school in 1962, when news of France's war in Algeria is still plentiful. Téchiné focuses on a handful of students, measuring their transition into adulthood against the reality of love, sex, and the war's controversial cost. Strikingly sensitive and sophisticated, beautifully dramatized, and perfectly acted by a young cast, the film feels like one of those universal touchstones for the final days of childhood grace. Téchiné's typically blunt-but-gentle manner is perfectly suited for this tale of youthful gains and losses. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

Exquisite.......2006-12-24

"WILD REEDS"

Exquisite

Amos Lassen and Cinema Pride

Probably more than any other film, "Wild Reeds" (Fox Lorber) tells the story of young gay love and it is probably the most popular movie that people still watch today...and rightfully so. Set in 1962 in the southwest of France, Maite and Francois are eighteen years old and they are simply friends. There is also Serge, a classmate, whose brother has just married to escape the draft and Henri, an Algerian. What happens will be discussed in a bit.
"Wild Reeds" is a wonderful drama which gives an insightful look into the lives of four teenagers in a boarding school in France. It is a complex and sophisticated study of burgeoning sexuality as well as a look at the state of French society while facing a war in Algeria and on communism which was beginning a rise among the university population.
There are several strands going on in the film simultaneously and the direction pulls everything together beautifully with lush photography and an excellent cast. It is also a brutally honest depiction of an individual recognizing and coming to terms with his sexuality and attempting to recognize and identify other people like himself in order to find someone to emulate.
The episodic nature of the film does not detract from the whole because the characters and conflicts are so beautifully rendered that there is a feeling of exuberance on the sides of both the actors and the viewers. The three boys, the main characters represent different aspects of the sexual spectrum with one being gay, one being bisexual and the other being straight. The fourth character is the personification of Algeria where war is raging.
What causes this film to soar above other coming-of-age films is its sincerity and honesty, the actors are real and the dialog is authentic. This is a film that will reawaken memories even though it is far away from the experiences that many of us had. It is such a moving film that it is said to haunt its viewers for years. What is created is a realistic and palpable universe and it isn't, by any means, an ordinary film about the wakening of adolescence. It is also a thesis on romance and a wonderful example of delicacy and fidelity dealing with sexual themes. Above all it treats love as it should be treated--as a superior, metaphysical statement.
The one scene that stands out in my mind is when Francois seeks out a shoe salesman that everyone knows is gay. This is a scene that represents the desperate search to destroy loneliness and lowliness of the gay lifestyle as well as the lack of postivie role models. Even though he does not get the ansers he seeks, Francois remains optimistic that he will find future happiness.
This is not a movie just to be loved but it is to be adored. It gives a sense of identification and not only deals with homosexuality but with many of the other peoblems of the modern age.It has deep political, psychological and politival messages and is a beautifl and touching film that should be at the top of every gay list.
In closing let me say that the actors are not the only stars in the film. The scenery is amazing and the soundtrack by Chubby Checker fits perfectly.

Good Film, but not outstanding........2006-10-04

First of all I HATE SUBTITLES. Some movies are just worth it. This one was ok, subtitles didn't ruin it, but it would have been much better in English. This is a charming coming of age film, but nothing in it just really reaches out and grabs me. It's a fun movie to watch but don't expect anything new that you haven't seen in a dozen other coming of age films. Very good casting, and the acting was very good as well. These young faces are pleasant to look at and their characters are portrayed in a very believable, touching way. The scenery is very nice and I didn't notice anything unappealing about video or audio quality. It is an indy so I didn't expect it to be top notch.. I recommend it, but would caution viewer to hold their expectations to a realistic level.

Great Film-shoddy transfer.......2004-08-04

This is a modern classic of French Cinema. The transfer is beyond shoddy. I could not believe my eyes. What a shame. Not the
first time Fox has botched it.

It goes where "Jules and Jim" didn't dare.......2004-03-16

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.

Sexual coming of ager.......2003-05-28

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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