A charismatic young man pays a devastating price for the social and sexual freedoms of the 1980s in this rich, entertaining French drama directed by André Téchiné (The Wild Reeds, I Don't Kiss).
Screened as part of NZIFF 2007
The Witnesses 2007
Les témoins
In the idyllic summer of 1984, charismatic young Manu (Johan Libéreau) joins his doctor friend Adrien (Michel Blanc) and a married couple on a blissful Riviera holiday. The couple – children’s writer Sarah (Emmanuelle Béart) and police detective Mehdi (Sami Bouajila) – are going through a crisis after the birth of their first child and Mehdi is irresistibly drawn towards Manu. Soon after, Manu comes down with a mysterious new disease. André Téchiné’s (The Wild Reeds, I Don’t Kiss) fast-moving, engrossing and entertaining drama revolves around the AIDS crisis of the mid 1980s, but its real theme is love and acceptance. A rich screenplay and bright comedy colours celebrate the spirit of the 80s as a time of great social and sexual freedom, embodied by young Johan Libéreau as the blithe, carefree Manu, whose irrepressible joie de vivre refuses to accept the limitations of monogamy. — Bianca Zander
“The [film’s] powerful storytelling projects the strongly affirmative message that it’s a miracle to be alive and bear witness to those who did not survive.” — Deborah Young, Variety