La Bande du Drugstore (2002)
Directed by François Armanet

Film Review

A greatly respected journalist and novelist, François Armanet directed this personal account of his experiences of life in France of the 1960s, an adaptation of his best-selling novel.  It's surprising how sombre and introspective the film is, since most people's recollection of the period is one of vivid colour and life lived to its absolute fullest.  Armanet's portrayal of 1960s youth is almost the exact opposite of Truffaut's and Rivette's - colourless, emotionally dry, and overly intellectual.  This, together with the film's lack of poetic sense, makes it a heavy, somewhat off-putting piece which falls somewhere in the sterile wasteland that lies between cinéma vérité and social drama.

Film Synopsis

Paris, 1966.  Philippe, Marc and Nathalie are three lively adolescents who take full advantage of the freedoms offered by their time.  This is the mid-sixties, a time of massive social change across the entire western world.  Between wild bouts of partying and drugs-taking, these three insouciant youngsters can have no idea of the momentous social and political events that are just over the horizon and which will impact greatly on their lives.  Invited to a party by Nathalie, Philippe meets Charlotte, an incredibly attractive girl of his own age, and instantly the two fall in love.  Eros could not have struck at a worse time, with Philippe's end of school exams just around the corner.  With Marc away in Israel, Philippe remains in Paris with Nathalie, regularly receiving letters from Charlotte, who by now is in England.  Philippe's romantic interests soon shift towards Nathalie, and, realising they are falling in love, the two carefree teenagers decide to spend some time together in Normandy...