The Freshmen

The Freshmen is a French comedy and drama centered on two students attempting to navigate the rigorous first year of medical school. Benjamin is a recent high school graduate facing immense pressure from his father, a surgeon, and his medical brother to succeed. Antoine is driven by a deep personal vocation but is attempting to pass the first year for the third time. As they struggle with a competitive environment, long lectures, and sleepless nights, the two form a friendship and decide to study together to manage the demanding workload. However, they must balance their different motivations and the tension of being rivals while pursuing their dreams.

The film was written and directed by Thomas Lilti, following his 2014 work Hippocrates. It stars Vincent Lacoste as Antoine Verdier and William Lebghil as Benjamin Sitbon, with Michel Lerousseau, Darina Al Joundi, and Benoît Di Marco in supporting roles. The movie was produced by companies including France 2 Cinéma, Le Pacte, 31 Juin Films, and Les Films du Parc. Since its release in September 2018, the film has received generally positive feedback from viewers, maintaining a rating of 6.6/10 on IMDb based on 3,200 votes and a 6.7/10 on TMDB from 732 votes.