Les Années campagne (1992)
Directed by Philippe Leriche

Film Review

Les Années campagne is the only film directed by Philippe Leriche, who previously worked as an assistant director on such well-known films as Deux hommes dans la ville (1973) and Emmanuelle (1974).  It's a very personal film, a familiar coming-of-age drama, whose charms are somewhat marred by a cliché-riddled script and some horribly over-sentimental music.  On the plus side, it is attractively filmed, the exterior shots in the countryside being strongly evocative of a lost childhood, and there's a nice performance from a young Benoît Magimel.

Film Synopsis

Towards the end of the 1960s, a couple are too preoccupied with their work in the city to take care of their 15-year-old son Jules, so he is packed off to the countryside to live with his grandparents at their large house.  It is an idyllic life that appeals to the solitary teenager.  He goes fishing with his grandfather and helps out in the garden.  Nothing could be better.  But then the old couple realise they cannot afford the upkeep of their house and decide to move to a smaller property in a nearby town.  At first, Jules has some difficulty adjusting to the move.  The area isn't as nice, for one thing. And for another, the local kids are too rough for his liking, and always making fun of him.  But then he falls in love for the first time...