The movie was released with a big media hype : "a great director,two great actors,a great writer";by and large ,it did not meet with with a favourable critical reception, even by the leftist ones ,but it did give Yves Boisset his highest commercial success ,whereas his former works, too political and too rebellious ("RAS " "Dupont-Lajoie" "un condé")could only bring censorship about. I have a strong tendency to like this turbulent Boisset best.
And it's sure easy to see why :it's harmless stuff , with cardboard characters , still living ,ten years after, the May 68 Zeitgeist . Annie Girardot resumes her well-known role of a lit teacher , and her character strongly recalls that of "mourir d'aimer " (André Cayatte , 1971),even though she does not fall in love with one of her students (and meets a tragical fate) but for a devoted doctor, fifteen years her junior.
If Boisset resumes his rebel stand,he goes through the motions,even though his sincerity cannot be called into question: to have one of the students write on the school ground "highschool= prison" is not particularly revolutionary, all the more harmless that these rebels do not come from poor milieus ; to be long-haired does not mean political generosity :never these spoilt kids talk about a square deal for the underprivileged ,the underdogs of the society they are not part of ; they complain for lack of tenderness, they put the blame on the parents (after Boisset quickly shows a caricature of the bourgeois folks ). The unemployment ,which had become the biggest problem of the seventies,is hardly skimmed over.
The arrival of a new problem student amounts to nothing ;the problems of this teacher ,estranged from her husband who lives in Canada ,with her daughter ,are insignificant ;the relationship with the principal is just what you expect (the generous teacher insists our work is to arm them for life ,but their life,not yours or mine: crystal clear,huh?)
Although at the top of the bill, Patrick Dewaere appears in about half of the movie; he and Girardot are so talented actors that the scenes between them are more endearing than the self-conscious teacher/students relationship ; all the good moments rest on their shoulders. A devoted doctor ,with Girardot in tow as an impromptu nurse ,they make an endearing couple. An extra star for them.
NB: Marie Cardinal , the writer of the book on which the movie is based ,thought it was rubbish.
