The Wild Time - DVD

Content: Paris in the early 1970s. Gilles (Clément Métayer), a young student, gets carried away by the political activism of his fellow students as he searches for his place in life. Fascinated by the idea of a new social order, he and his friends repeatedly take to the streets, where he meets the committed Christine (Lola Créton). When the group is targeted by the police after an action, the students are advised to go on holiday abroad. For Gilles, it's a very special trip, during which he discovers not only his love for Christine, but also his enthusiasm for painting and film. And soon he must decide which path to take for his future: should he follow his talent and inner passion by turning to art, or should he continue to prioritize his love for Christine and his friends' political involvement? It's a wild time that shows him how many ways life gives you to find your own place...

With The Wild Time, director Olivier Assayas delivers another very coherent period piece. Already in his great Carlos - The Jackal he succeeded brilliantly in capturing the social and political mood of an entire generation by telling the story of one character. And he succeeds in doing just that again here, sending his protagonist Gilles on a quest to find his life's purpose. He is torn by the events happening around him. On his journey to find himself, the viewer not only learns a lot about the political situation in Europe in the 70s or about the art scene. Also social views about relationships, sexuality or self-determination are conveyed very well here.

This succeeds admittedly not only through the good script. Also the atmospheric set, costumes, hairstyles or the soundtrack ensure that the viewer is transported directly into the 1970s. As successful as most aspects of the production are, it also has to be said that the whole thing can seem a bit dry and long-winded, especially in the long dialogue scenes that deal with political activism or even the understanding of art. In such moments, where Gilles' story is not the main focus, the movie still works very well. Still, there is always the feeling that such scenes were only staged for their own sake and that they don't really push the actual story forward. Other moments, on the other hand, which would have deserved a bit more attention, are ticked off as they pass by and then can't unfold the emotional impact they would have had the potential for.

But fortunately these are really only a few moments. Overall, Die wilde Zeit has become an exciting and beautiful journey through time, a film full of longing and melancholy, whose story perfectly masters the difficult balancing act between universality and intimacy. For lovers of somewhat more sophisticated, contemporary historical arthouse dramas therefore also applies: absolutely worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: Especially the color scheme of the DVD captures the coherent 70s atmosphere of the film very well. But also in terms of sharpness and contrast, the visuals can convince. In some darker scenes, there is a minimal amount of picture noise and the detail representation also has to accept some loss of quality, but overall a very positive overall impression prevails. This also applies to the sound, which is dominated primarily by the dialogue and music, but which can also build a coherent soundscape through the targeted use of the surround channels. Good!

Extras: As a bonus, the DVD has a short but not uninteresting making of (approx. 16 min.), as well as a very psychedelic lightshow for Fille qui Mousse (approx. 2:20 min.), which was briefly seen in the film.

Conclusion: With The Wild Days, director Olivier Assayas does an excellent job of transporting the viewer to the early 1970s and making tangible all that made up that era culturally and politically. It is a film full of longing and melancholy, which on the one hand has become very universal, on the other absolutely intimate. A piece of contemporary history worth seeing, which is presented on the DVD in good picture and sound quality. The additional material is with a short Making of quite scarce, but worth seeing. Overall, there is for this DVD a very clear: Recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp