In Troyes, Thomas, the son of a bourgeois family, is in the final stages of his adolescence. He's almost an adult when he discovers that his mother has a lover. At the same time, he realizes that his father is turning a blind eye, and that the estranged couple are only together for show. Thomas rebels, but has to hide his dismay and satisfy his great need for tenderness at the same time.
Acting
Michel Bouquet's entire performance is a man swallowing his pride.
Direction
Dion lets silences do the screaming for him.
Director
Jean-François Dion
Nicole Courcel
Florence, the mother
Michel Bouquet
André, the father
Patrick Le Mauff
Thomas
Christine Boisson
Sophie
Laurence de Monaghan
Christine
Marie-Hélène Dasté
Grandmother
Anne Jousset
Fanette
Joël Santoni
The boss of the store
Jean Berger
Pierre
Michel Such
Antoine
Florence Guerfy
Alice
Dominique Minot
Pierre's wife
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This 1975 film captures the specific post-1968 French disillusionment—the revolution failed, so now we watch bourgeois families quietly rot.
Director Jean-François Dion never made another feature; this singular examination of adolescent crisis remains his only statement.
FR
