Adieu Philippine

Michel is a technician in the new television industry and will be drafted in two months; the Algerian War is running. Outside the studio he meets two inseparable friends, Juliette and Liliane, who want to be actresses. He flirts with both, goes out with each separately and with both together, and chooses neither. He decides to spend his last holiday before the army in Corsica; both girls follow. Jacques Rozier's film is among the loosest works of the French New Wave. The shoot ran long and much of it was improvised, with sound recorded afterwards. The narrative arrives nowhere, and that is a choice rather than a fault: the film is about the last weeks of youth, lived without speaking about what is coming. The Algerian War is never shown and sits underneath every scene. Jean-Claude Aimini, Yveline Cery and Stefania Sabatini take the leads. Who it's for: Viewers who like the French New Wave, improvised cinema, and summer films. Who it's not for: There is no plot and the characters stay on the surface. The writing of the women also carries the gaze of its period.