Zander’s Weblog

Les Roseaux Sauvages, André Téchiné’s 1994 coming-of-age drama, is a gem. Set in a boarding school, the film follows the struggles of a group of friends as they grapple with the complex issues of that age. What sets this film apart is that one comes away liking all of the characters.

Also known as: “A’ Cause d’un Garcon”, a tepid and rather formulaic French coming out story. The grass does not appear any greener in France for gay teens—rather the same as here, in fact.

Another film by Louis Malle and set in the south of France in 1944. Beautifully filmed with gorgeous locations and an equally pretty lead (Pierre Blaise), but slowly paced and “atmospheric”–the characters never say quite enough to reveal who they are or what their motivations might be and I struggled to like any of them. The lead is a villian, but as the father of the girl he is banging put it, “It is strange. I cannot seem to bring myself to despise you completely.”