Passe ton bac d'abord C'est la vie, hein?

This is a slightly left of centre review but just after having viewed this movie on TFO last night

C'est la vie, hein?

From 1979, Passe ton bac d'abord is the unremarkable lives of teenagers stuck in a mining town in Lens, France. Maurice Pialat's film just before Loulou perfectly captures the ordinariness of their daily life.
As the credits start roll, the introduction to philosophy by their teacher drones on in the background, dropping words like "s'ennui" and "pourquoi ... on tracasse"

"on s'emmerde"

Director Maurice Pialat has a proven eye for the ladies, here he casts the pretty and vulnerable Sabine Haudepin [ first seen in Jules et Jim as the young Sabine ] as Elisabeth and Philippe Marlaud as Philippe who has an eye for Elisabeth. The other schoolmates are drawn from the town itself, each "actor" bearing their own name and playing themselves.

The generational theme of Passe ton bac d'abord is not unlike that seen in Lukas Moodysson's Show Me Love or other teen related films, kids trying to grow up and going nowhere fast, killing time, hanging out together and dreaming of getting out - or in the case of the young girl Agnes, getting married in a few months. The prospects for the teens of getting out of Lens are minimal at best. Their fathers work in the mine to support their families, but come prone to deadly silicosis from the dust inhaled in their labours.

The young girl dreams of her wedding day in a few months, not unlike a friend who also married at 19 but already burdened with two kids already. Althought set in 1979, the colourful movie is still modern in style and fashion with a French flare. Mentions of the Sex Pistols and other punk bands are contemporary. A trip to the seaside takes the friends out of Lens for a while. The question still is what are you going to do after graduation or dropping out of school. L'ennui is the word of the day, so it's a parade of "on se balade?" strolls along the beach. The girls hairstyles and deportment is not out of place for the time, while the young male's coifs are long and styled. Displays of affection are not out of place, and there are flashes of the bedroom. This is not a generation of slackers, although a life without lycée does not leave much choice for the guys except to stay in Lens or find their dream elsewhere - this time in Paris.

Passe ton bac d'abord has the Pialat charm and intimate camerawork that would be his trademark for films to come. Next stop: Loulou.

from TIFF 2004a lookback

from Sep 19 2004

now this is a festival

Thursday September 9, 2004
La Femme de Gilles
Varsity 8 6:30 PM

Thursday September 9, 2004
Human Touch, Paul Cox, 2004
VARSITY 2 10:00 PM

Friday September 10, 2004
Les Revenants, Robin Campillo
VARSITY 8 6:30 PM

Friday September 10, 2004
Undertow, David Gordon Green, 2004
RYERSON 9:30 PM

Saturday September 11, 2004
I Heart Huckabees, David O. Russell, 2004
RYERSON 9:30 AM

Saturday September 11, 2004
In My Father's Den, Brad McGann, 2004
PARAMOUNT 2 12:00 PM

Saturday September 11, 2004
Anatomie d'Enfer, Catherine Breillat
PARAMOUNT 2 4:00 PM

Saturday September 11, 2004
Lila Dit Ca, Ziad Doueiri, 2004
PARAMOUNT 4 6:30 PM

Saturday September 11, 2004
Haven, Frank E. Flowers, 2004
RYERSON 9:30 PM

Sunday September 12, 2004
A Hole in My Heart, Lukas Moodysson, 2004
PARAMOUNT 2 3:00 PM

Sunday September 12, 2004
Head in the Clouds, John Duigan, 2004
VISA SCREENING ROOM (ELGIN) 6:30 PM

Monday September 13, 2004
Mysterious Skin, Gregg Araki, 2004
ISABEL BADER THEATRE 9:45 PM


Tuesday September 14, 2004
9 Songs, Michael Winterbottom, 2004
RYERSON 6:30 PM


Wednesday September 15, 2004
Stage Beauty, Richard Eyre, 2004
ROY THOMSON HALL (GALA) 6:30 PM


Wednesday September 15, 2004
A Good Woman
ROY THOMSON HALL (GALA) 9:30 PM


Thursday September 16, 2004
A Good Woman RYERSON 12:30 PM


Thursday September 16, 2004
Eros, Wong Kar-wai, Steven Soderbergh, Michelangelo Antonioni
VISA SCREENING ROOM (ELGIN) 9:30 PM


Friday September 17, 2004
Somersault, Cate Shortland, 2004
ISABEL BADER THEATRE 7:15 PM


Saturday September 18, 2004
Somersault, Cate Shortland, 2004
CUMBERLAND 2 4:30 PM


Saturday September 18, 2004
CQ2, Carol Laure, 2004
VARSITY 6 7:30 PM

Was this your era ?

Joy Division

The Best Of CMJ 1979-1989 - Various Artists album (1990)
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US 5CD College Media Inc. CMJ 10-CD 1001 A/B/C/D/E
(thanks to Sebastian Luetzow for the info and the scan!)

Accidents Will Happen - Elvis Costello & The Attractions
Damaged Goods - Gang Of Four
London Calling - The Clash
Next To You - The Police
Starry Eyes - The Records
Boys Don't Cry - The Cure
Here Comes My Girl - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Look Sharp - Joe Jackson
Life During Wartime - Talking Heads
You Say You Don't Love Me - Buzzcocks
I Don't Like Mondays - Boomtown Rats
Enola Gay - OMD
Twist & Crawl - The Beat
Pay To Cum - Bad Brains
I Got You - Split Enz
Los Angeles - X
I Wanna Destroy You - Soft Boys
Going Underground - The Jam
Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division
Redemption Song - Bob Marley & The Wailers
Biko - Peter Gabriel
Rise Above - Black Flag
Motorhead - Motorhead
The Wait - The Pretenders
Another Nail In My Heart - Squeeze
Girls On Film - Duran Duran
Pretty In Pink - Psychedelic Furs
Big Brown Eyes - dB's
Our Lips Are Sealed - Go-Go's
Crazy - Pylon
Runaway Boys - Stray Cats
Holiday In Cambodia - Dead Kennedys
Tainted Love - Soft Cell
Don't You Want Me - Human League
O Superman - Laurie Anderson
New Chatauqua - Pat Metheny
Senses Working Overtime - XTC
Blister In The Sun - Violent Femmes
Rockit - Herbie Hancock
Sweet Dreams - Eurythmics
Radio Free Europe - REM
Spellbound - Siouxsie & The Banshees
Sponji Reggae - Black Uhuru
Pale Shelter - Tears For Fears
Ja Funmi - King Sunny Ade
16 Shells From A Thirty-O Six - Tom Waits
Atomic Dog - George Clinton
Tenderness - General Public
It's My Life - Talk Talk
You're The Best Thing - Style Council
The Killing Moon - Echo & The Bunnymen
Aerial Boundaries - Michael Hedges
Blue Monday - New Order
Institutionalized - Suicidal Tendencies
Rock Box - Run DMC
Pride - U2
Free Nelson Mandela - Specials AKA
When Doves Cry - Prince & The Revolution
Unsatisfied - The Replacements
A New England - Billy Bragg
Marlene On The Wall - Suzanne Vega
Will The Wolf Survive? - Los Lobos
I Want You Back - Hoodoo Gurus
Pink Turns To Blue - Husker Du
How Soon Is Now? - The Smiths
The Whole Of The Moon - The Waterboys
Political Song For Michael Jackson To Sing - Minutemen
Party At Ground Zero - Fishbone
Take The Skinheads Bowling - Camper Van Beethoven
Pride & Joy - Lil Ed & The Blues Imperials
Moving To Florida - Butthole Surfers
Just Like Honey - Jesus & Mary Chain
Death Valley '69 - Sonic Youth


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The John Peel Sessions - Various Artists album (1990)
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US promo CD Dutch East India Trading DEI 8601-2
(thanks to Øyvind Franck for the info and the scan!)

Keep The Circle Around - Inspiral Carpets
Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division
In My Veins - Prong
To Hell With Poverty - Gang Of Four
Do It Better - Happy Mondays
Handsome Devil - The Smiths
Perfumed Garden - The Chameleons
Culture Vultures - Wire
Hong Kong Garden - Siouxsie And The Banshees
Truth - New Order
New Rose - The Damned
False Prophet - Extreme Noise Terror
Two Of A Kind - Syd Barrett
What Do I Get? - Buzzcocks
Killing An Arab - The Cure
Hey Bernadette - Colorblind James Experience
Mess Of My - The Fall
Munise Munise - Amayenge