This is the follow-up,so to speak,of Rouquier's "Farrebique" which he made at the end of WW2.For that only,it is an unique film.Close to cinema verite ,but do not panic,it's not Godardesque stodgy stuff,it's a simple depiction of country life circa 1980 just after the socialists rose to power.
Anyway these peasants do not care about politics and they are probably right.The film includes excerpts from the black and white original movie.Sometimes the contrast is startling.Take the scene in the church: a panoramic shot shows first the empty pews before filming the tiny congregation the priest wishes a good Sunday .Even more striking is the empty village square after the mass ."Now they are in a hurry to come back home " a man notices as Rouquier inserts a short sequence of long ago when people used to meet to talk about local politics or other trivia.
Now,at home ,there is TV.The two farmers seem to be fans of an emission as old as the hills "Des Chiffres et Des Lettres" .What's stupefying is that the man will use the words of this emission (Consonne,Voyelle) to communicate with his paralyzed brother,no able to speak anymore.The "patois" which was used in the 1946 work and that was difficult to understand even for a French audience has almost disappeared : isn't the farmer's son a medical arts student?.During the whole movie,they have never been conceited about it: "He's got to bone up on!" the mother says and that's about it.
The thrashers,the milking machines (and the washing machines) have made work easier ,but it remains a hard labor though."I wonder how our mothers could manage" a woman notices.
The 1946 work was certainly more interesting for a 2007 audience;after all the eighties are not so far behind.But one should see,if it's possible,the two works,one after the other.
