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Wild Reeds

Play trailer Poster for Wild Reeds 1994 1h 50m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 9 Reviews 87% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
At a boarding school in the south of France, timid student Francois (Gaël Morel) discovers his latent homosexuality when he enters into an erotic relationship with farm boy Serge (Jacques Nolot). A bizarre love triangle soon forms between Francois, his best friend Maetie (Élodie Bouchez) and Serge while the French Algerian war rages in the background, paralleling the tumult of self-discovery that comes at the crossroads between youth and adulthood.

Critics Reviews

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Emanuel Levy Variety 12/20/2006
A
French helmer Andre Techine's most personal--and arguably best--film is one of the few foreign language pictures that was recognized by most critics groups in the U.S. Go to Full Review
Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times 01/01/2000
3/4
Some of the political undertones may go astray, but the emotional center of the film is touching and honest. Go to Full Review
John A. Nesbit Old School Reviews 03/09/2010
B
real and honest Go to Full Review
Felix Gonzalez Jr. DVD Review 08/18/2008
... Techine examines the emotional changes of his young protagonists with sensitivity and understanding. Go to Full Review
TV Guide 07/30/2003
4/5
Jeremy Heilman MovieMartyr.com 06/19/2002
3/4
[Its] subdued tone becomes the movie's greatest strength, since it keeps the film's plot events from ever feeling melodramatic. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Alec B Sep 22 I love the way everyone's personalities, ideologies, and perspectives keep crashing into each other here. It's all very specific to a particular time in France and yet its still universal. See more William L 01/12/2022 The first word that comes to mind when watching Wild Reeds is 'delicate' - young people on the cusp of adulthood wrestling with inner confusion regarding their own identities, unsure how to express themselves and leaving an uncertain chemistry in their small friend group as they try to reconcile their own feelings with the expectations of the world around them. With a detailed, careful treatment of human emotion and vulnerability, Téchiné delivers a coming-of-age story that touches on a social backdrop (the Algerian War) without getting tied down to its particular details, bringing out nuanced and subdued performances from his acting talent. Certainly a slow burn and not to all tastes, but a good representative of the capabilties of Téchiné as a director and his personal preference to focus on the complexities of human emotion. Emotional without feeling melodramatic. (3.5/5) See more 09/24/2020 I sat through this film without recognizing that it had a firm, yet unimposing hold on me. It reminded me of my youth as four young people were basically finding their way in the world. I just found the film painting a very realistic portrait about the struggle young people go through but find it hard to imagine a film like this coming out of Hollywood. The acting is superb. For young US audiences, addicted to fast paced action and empty plots I think there would be a hard time dealing with the dialogue. If I could write film reviews I'd write one. All I can say is that this film is a must see. See more 12/12/2019 The best coming of age film i have ever seen See more 01/07/2016 This is a warm, heartfelt, subtle story about coming of age in the '60s in France. See more 10/02/2014 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 colonisation. 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. continue reading my review on my blog: http://wp.me/p1eXom-1BR See more Read all reviews
Wild Reeds

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Movie Info

Synopsis At a boarding school in the south of France, timid student Francois (Gaël Morel) discovers his latent homosexuality when he enters into an erotic relationship with farm boy Serge (Jacques Nolot). A bizarre love triangle soon forms between Francois, his best friend Maetie (Élodie Bouchez) and Serge while the French Algerian war rages in the background, paralleling the tumult of self-discovery that comes at the crossroads between youth and adulthood.
Director
André Téchiné
Producer
Georges Benayoun, Alain Sarde
Screenwriter
André Téchiné, Olivier Massart, Gilles Taurand
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Canadian French
Release Date (DVD)
Jul 22, 2008
Runtime
1h 50m