Half a Life is black-and-white documentary about Michel Recanati, a militant leader during the May 1968 riots in Paris.
| Half a Life | |
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| Mourir à 30 ans | |
The French title, “Mourir à 30 ans” (“Dying at 30”) is more apt.
The film won the Caméra d’Or and Award of the Youth (French film) at the Cannes Film Fest, along with the César Award for Best Debut.
The biopic tells the story of two friends through left-wing groups in Paris between 1966 and 1978 when Michel goes missing; it is later revealed that he committed suicide.
Meant to be both a personal tale and in-depth look at the political scene in France during those years, it also documents the history of the CAL [Highschool Student Action Committee] and the LCR Revolutionary Communist League .
Much of the original footage was shot over 10 years by Goupil’s father Pierre, who worked in the cinema.
Romain armed with a super 8 camera took some footage of the student riots and meetings from that time in Paris.
There is footage of speeches by Alain Krivine a leader of the Trotskyist movement in France and a member of the Revolutionary Communist League known by the acronym LCR Ligue Communiste Révolutionnaire.
Other key figures of the French Left are interviewed, including Trotskyist journalist Maurice Najman and Henri Weber when he was leading member of the Trotskyist Revolutionary Communist Youth known in French as: (JCR) Jeunesse communiste révolutionnaire.
Credits:
Directed, written by Romain Goupil
Produced by Marin Karmitz
Cinematography Pierre Goupil, Jean-César Chiabaut, Renan Pollès
Edited by Franssou Prenant
Distributed by MK2 Diffusion
Running time: 95 minutes
Caméra d’Or Winning Films (1978-Present)
Alambrista! (1978), US
Northern Lights (1979), US
Adrien’s Story (1980), French
Desperado City (1981), West German
Half a Life (1982), French
The Princess (1983)
Stranger Than Paradise (1984), US
Oriana (1985)
Noir et Blanc (1986)
Robinsonada or My English Grandfather (1987)
Salaam Bombay! (1988), US
My 20th Century (1989)
Freeze Die Come to Life (1990)]
Toto the Hero (1991)
Mac (1992), US
The Scent of Green Papaya (1993)
Coming to Terms with the Dead (1994)
The White Balloon (1995)
Love Serenade (1996)
Suzaku (1997
Slam (1998), US
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Djomeh (2000)
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Reconstruction (2003)
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Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005), US
The Forsaken Land (2005)
12:08 East of Bucharest (2006)
Jellyfish (2007), Israel
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Samson and Delilah (2009)
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Murina (2021)
War Pony (2022), US
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