Vive la sociale!

SYNOPSIS

In this charming, semi-autobiographical look at his politicized past, director Gerard Mordillat focuses on the ironic, the wistful, and the sometimes ludicrous events that spin off from the Communist/anarchist upbringing of his main character, Maurice Decques (François Cluzet). Maurice's tendency to swing over to the bourgeosie in his adult career as a caterer to social gatherings of varying stature is also reflected in the woman he marries - a Czech whose family chose Paris over Moscow "because the USSR has concentration camps" as she told her shocked Communist father-in-law. When Maurice is caught in the 1968 student demonstrations in Paris, the officer who hauls him off is soon recognized as an old childhood buddy, and instead of heading to jail, the policeman/friend takes Maurice home. As the police van drives out of view, the two buddies are seen as young kids, sitting on the hood of a car and dreaming about the future.