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Black/white 16
mm, 90 min.
SynopsisSylvain, a fourteen
years old boy, lives in a middle-class family, which seems to have a life of
calm contentment, when it is in fact somehow knotted. He is rather dreamy,
nervous, and fond of strange games with his best friend. One day, he looks for
the etymology of his forename: « Sylvain » means « the forest ».
For his anxious mind, this discovery acts as a revelation: this is for him a
reason for living, a « bush soul »,
and he decides to move and join the forest. The only one he knows, is “les
Landes”, in the southwest of France, where his parents bring him every summer. The day before the
February holidays, he prepares himself in great secret, in a way that looks much
like a ritual. He leaves during the night, with his rucksack. In the early morning, he
succeeds to get a lift from a young woman, who drives toward the South. During
the journey, she tries to talk with him, without asking any indiscreet questions
– when she of course guess he could be a runaway child. First on his guard
against her, Sylvain relaxes and complicity arises. They talk together about
their major concerns, such as love, life with somebody else, and, especially for
him, the fear from oldness and death. In front of them, a
motorbike leaves the road. They stop to help him: The biker is safe, however the
story of his accident makes Sylvain grow uneasy. At the end in the
forest, alone in his parents’ chalet, he is surprised by the solitude of the
place, which contrasts with the summer animation. One after the other, small
events make his worries come back. The mere flight of a helicopter reminds him
that police must be on his tracks: there is no rest anywhere… Credits
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