Wild Reeds

Wild Reeds is not only Andre Techine's best film in a decade, it's one of France's, too. [22 Sep 1995, p.57]

The year's most original and thought-provoking coming-of-age drama, with standout performances by Gael Morel as Techine's on-screen alter ego and Frederic Corny as the Algerian-born boy who challenges his adolescent assumptions. [31 Dec 1995, p.1]

As always, Techine is excellent at exploring “tiny” personal flashes that assume larger meaning when placed against the broader historical context. Read full review

[A] delicate, lovingly photographed, strongly acted coming-of-age story. Read full review

Every character--not just the kids, but the teachers as well--comes alive with a complexity worthy of Jean Renoir. The lyricism of Wild Reeds doesn't cast a smoke screen of nostalgia, it brings us closer to the experience of adolescence. Read full review

The film perfectly understands the tentative experimentation and frequent self-loathing of adolescence, the difficulty of knowing whom to trust and how much to trust them, as well as how incendiary an age this can be, with uncertain psyches ready to explode at minimal provocation. Read full review

The film impresses for its authenticity, careful delineation of mood, and subtle balancing of the personal and political. Téchiné wins sterling support from his young cast, who give the kind of quiet, naturalistic performances the French are so good at. A delicacy to savour. Read full review

This is a slice of life with an imperfect beginning and conclusion, but what transpires between those two endpoints is strong enough to leave an impression on anyone with the patience to commit to a movie of such unhurried temperament. Read full review

Superbly acted by its young cast, written and directed with great sophistication, Wild Reeds moves with a sad assurance through that domain that most American filmmakers explore only clumsily: the mysteries of the human heart. Read full review

Andre Techine creates living characters instead of sociopolitical symbols. Read full review

The tone and feel of Wild Reeds keeps shifting between irony and sentimentality, violence and tenderness, rebellion and acceptance. And those oscillations fit the volatile nature of its subject: young love and friendship. Together with his attractive and excellent cast, Techine recalls and invokes the mood swings of youth, the intensity and bursts of near-delirious passion. Read full review

Moving and sensitively written, it's a needed reminder that what's personal is always political -- and vice-versa. Read full review

Wild Reeds is a sublime melodrama about how the fortuitous choices we make in adolescence can affect us for years. [29 Sep 1995, p.7G]

Some of the political undertones may go astray, but the emotional center of the film is touching and honest. Read full review

Using telephoto lenses to bring us close to the characters, Techine directs Wild Reeds with an impeccable sense of tempo, unhurried by narrative pressures. The actors seem to find exactly the right, internal rhythm for each scene the leisurely rhythm of people discovering each other and discovering themselves. This is certainly one of the year's best films. [30 June 1995, p.54]

While the story of Wild Reeds may be at times unbearably obscure, the images infuse the film with a drama and beauty that is unrelenting in its impact. Read full review

The film is your basic sensitive young people coming-of-age in the '60s formula piece. [29 Apr 1995]

Wild Reeds is a sober, heartfelt piece of work, sensitively directed and lovingly photographed -- though slightly dull, if we're going to be perfectly honest. Read full review

While it's all very pleasant watching these undecided pubescents frolic in the lake in their undies, there's a distinct lack of real drama or purpose in the self-indulgent, humourless proceedings. Read full review