Graduate First (Passe ton bac d’abord) by Maurice Pialat (1979)

“I saw this film again when I was preparing for Les liens du sang because it is set in the same period. It’s a film by Pialat called Passe ton bac d’abord that I first saw when I was in senior high. It was a shock because I felt like it had been made in my school and that it was about my friends and me. I was no great film lover yet it had a huge impact on me. I discovered a different side of cinema. I saw films could really talk about people and their lives in a raw, real and passionate way. It was a shock that triggered something off in my mind. It is not the best known of Pialat’s films but it still holds up well today. It is really a beautiful film.”

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