La France Made in USA

France and the United States have a long history to share, a history that starts before the United States have been founded and continues until today. It is a history of common ideals but also differences, of love and political and cultural dispute.

This documentary of ARTE presents in a pretty documented and balanced manner one important episode of this history - the American presence in France after WWII, in its varied aspects from the economic impact of the Marshall plan, through the personal relations between the American soldiers and the local population until the cultural influence, the attraction to the all-American followed by the anti-American rejectionist reaction.

All this is well documented with good materials from the rich archives of the period, with commentaries and live memories that are quite well chosen. Although it plays on the potentially mined ground of a relationship that includes quite a high dose of ongoing differences, 'France Made in USA' succeeds to be both accurate and balanced.