Passe ton bac d'abord

This came at an interesting time for Pialat as he'd just released La Gueule ouverte which almost no-one went to see and nearly bankrupted him and the distribution company and was a significant change in direction and subject material: from a woman dying of cancer to directionless children.
 
With a very distinctive, almost documentary style, way of shooting this follows a group of young people in Lens as they finish school, taking their Bac (the Baccalaureate examination that culminates years of study) and find themselves with no job and no idea of what to do next.  As they sit around in bars drinking, eating chips and chatting, they dump their partners, find new ones and try and think of what to with their lives.
 
I found the beginning quite funny as many of the men have terribly unconvincing moustaches of the bum fluff variety and the fashions of the late-'70s look terrible but I quickly forgot all this and became engrossed in the characters as they have to cope with family breakdown, illness, marriage, tragedy and the generation gap that was such a feature of that era, no matter where you were in the world.
 

 
There is a timeless quality to the film as nothing seems to have really changed since then, whether in France or anywhere else - people still graduate from college or university with no idea of what to do with their lives, no prospects of a career linked to their degree (I'm one and know several others) and don't get on well with their parents who wish they'd sort themselves out, get a place of their own and a job.
 
 
All of the actors, most of whom were appearing in their first film and were 'normal' kids or adults with other vocations, are superb and utterly convincing as they're basically playing themselves.  In the extra features, one reveals that he was surprised when the script for a day's shooting appeared and it contained some things that he and a friend were talking about the night before - Pialat had obviously been eavesdropping to get the dialogue as realistic as possible.  Adding to this is the vérité style of the film that could very easily be a documentary.  There is nothing false or strange about these kids - to use a topical example, they aren't The Breakfast Club kids and there is nothing that seems clichéd.
 

 
Compared to other Pialat films, this seems the most light-hearted but is still extremely interesting as it shows you a section of French society that is very scarcely shown.  Some of the scenes were a little like those in Ghost World, another film about recent high school graduates with no idea of what to do but this doesn't have the flippant humour, instead going for much darker and harder material.  Though not a bundle of laughs, just about everyone will identify with someone in this film, whether it's one of the kids, the teacher or one of the parents.  Passe ton Bac is the most accessible and watchable film of Pialat's that I've seen as he introduces the tough material as sub-plots rather than the main theme.  If you want a way into Pialat, this is it.
 

The Disc

 
Extra Features
There are over half an hour of features and interviews under different headings, the best of which is the 26-minute Après le bac containing interviews with some of the cast who look very good and it's hard to work out how old they are as they talk about the shooting experience and what it was like working with Pialat.
 
There are also six trailers for other Pialat films and a brilliant booklet which is virtually compulsory for Masters of Cinema realeases!
 

 
The Picture
Though shot vérité style, this looks tremendous and has obviously undergone a great deal of restoration work.  The picture is sharp and the colours and contrast are good.  I can't think that this would have worked if it had been meticulously worked out and shot as a traditional studio picture so the documentary style suits the subject matter perfectly and each compliments the other.
 
The Sound
The Dolby Digital Mono soundtrack is very clear with excellent optional English subtitles.  Pialat uses very little scored music, instead using sourced music from jukeboxes and radios.  The film is all about dialogue but with the odd scene where there are ambient sounds but these have been well mixed so you're aware of them but they don't detract from the overall clarity.
 

 
Final Thoughts
Passe ton bac d'abord is a very watchable film but one with serious messages and subtexts that are as relevant now as they were thirty years ago.  Beautifully acted and intelligently written, this is a great starting point for anyone interested in Maurice Pialat's films and it has been given a terrific package by the always reliable Masters of Cinema series.