Nés en 68 (2008)
Directed by Olivier Ducastel, Jacques Martineau

Film Review

A frenetic and somewhat over-ambitious socio-political fresco, Nés en 68 marks a radical departure for the talented writer-director team Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau.  After the exuberant slice-of-life comedies Drôle de Félix (2000) and Crustacés et coquillages (2005), the duo's fifth feature has a more ambitious target in its sights, a social drama that draws comparisons between the concerns of the present generation of students and those of their parents in those heady days of the late 1960s.  It is a worthy subject and its authors take it on with their habitual commitment and sincerity, but lacking the resources to do justice to its subject, the film cannot help feeling a tad naive and insubstantial.

Once again, Ducastel and Martineau feel bound to offer their characteristically humane perspective on the AIDS epidemic - somewhat less successfully than in their other films, notably Jeanne et le garçon formidable (1998) and Théo et Hugo dans le même bateau (2016) - but also bring into the mix a plethora of other pressing social issues, such as France's disgraceful treatment of illegal immigrants (a major news story in the 1990s and 2000s).  There's no doubt that the writers' hearts are in the right place, but by attempting to take on so many important topics they inevitably end up with an ungainly and somewhat unsatisfying collage.

Although there are some very credible performances from some of the cast - Laetitia Casta and Yannick Renier are hard to fault - generally there is a lack of conviction on both the writing and acting fronts.  Nés en 68 gets as much mileage as it can from its bold concept given its modest budget, but whilst it manages to hold our interest it doesn't quite engage our emotions.  Its unattractive digital photography does little to endear us to it, diminishing rather than accentuating the realism that the film's authors may have been striving for.  Overall, the film has some appeal, but it lacks the charm and inspired touch of other Ducastel-Martineau offerings.

Film Synopsis

In 1968, Catherine, Yves and Hervé are students at the Sorbonne.  Twenty years old, they share the same ideals and are willing participants in the riots that erupt across the capital in that turbulent month of May.  So fiercely opposed are they to the capitalist system that they rebel and join a group that has formed a community on an abandoned farm in Lot.  At first, the three friends live an idyllic life, glad that they have fled the rat race and can live as freely as nature intended.  But it isn't long before disillusionment sets in.  Working the land is harder than they had thought and poverty soon loses its appeal.  Catherine is left to bring up her two children, Boris and Ludmilla, alone, whilst their father, Yves, heads back to Paris.

Twenty-one years later, the world has completely changed, and the ideals of May '68 now seem like a distant dream.  The AIDS pandemic, the ill-treatment of illegal immigrants and the spectacular collapse of the Soviet Union - these are the issues that preoccupy today's generation of youngsters.  The realities that now confront Boris and Ludmilla as they take on the challenges of adulthood are a world apart from those that their parents rebelled against in 1968...