May Fools

It is mid-May 1968 and Paris of the barricades is two weeks old. All France is in turmoil. On a big manorial estate, surrounded by the vines, in the south-east of France, Grandmother has just died. Her 60-year-old-son Milou has been living with her and has mismanaged the property. The family and other relatives assembly for the funeral, all of them shaken by the events in Paris.

Comment:
The idea of film came to me in the spring of 1988, when there were a number of radio and TV broadcasts and newspaper articles marking the 20th anniversary of May 1968. Listening to the old campaigners discussing things, I noticed a big difference between their words and then. None of them seemed to bring out what really happened in May 1968.
I have chosen to use the historical material, but from a distance, like an echo; the film takes place a long way from Paris, and its tone is that of comedy.

Louis Malle

Orig. titel
Milou en mai: Medverkande
Michel Piccoli, Miou-Miou, Michel Duchaussoy: Producent
Vincent Malle: Manus
Louis Malle, Jean Claude Carriére: Foto
Renato Berta: Musik
Stéphane Grappelli: Talat språk
French