Wild Reeds

Set in southwestern France in 1962, as the Algerian War is ending, Wild Reeds follows a group of teenagers at a boarding school navigating first love and political upheaval. François, eighteen, is involved with Maïté, the daughter of a communist teacher, but he finds himself drawn to Serge, a farmer's son whose brother is serving in Algeria. Into their circle comes Henri, a young pied-noir from Algeria who has come to the mainland to sit his exams and whose bitterness sets him apart from his classmates. The film examines how the conflict abroad and the pressures of family and village life shape the students as they move toward adulthood.

André Téchiné directed and co-wrote the film with Gilles Taurand and Olivier Massart, and it stands between I Don't Kiss and Strayed in his filmography. The cast includes Élodie Bouchez, Gaël Morel, Stéphane Rideau, Frédéric Gorny, Michèle Moretti and Jacques Nolot, with 21 credited performers in all.

Released in 1994, the film runs 115 minutes. On IMDb it holds a critics' rating of 8.2/10 from 10 reviews, while on TMDB it has an audience rating of 7/10 from 148 votes, a comparison suggesting strong critical approval alongside a solid but less enthusiastic general response.