France (Les Habitants)
1h 24m
Directed by Raymond Depardon • Documentary • 2015 • 84 minutes
The vintage camping trailer making its way along France’s secondary highways looks utterly unremarkable. But once Raymond Depardon parks it—in front of stores, businesses, and town squares across the country—it become the location for dozens of remarkable conversations.
Despite, or perhaps because of, the unusual setting, many of the conversations are strikingly intimate. A young man talks to his girlfriend about how he struggles with her jealousy. A single mother working as a stripper vents all her frustrations to a near-silent friend. Two high school seniors reminisce about their school days in a scene straight out of a coming-of-age film. A mother tries to make her son understand how his destructive behaviour affects the whole family and causes endless worry.
“An affectionately realistic portrait of a France we seldom see.” —The Hollywood Reporter