teenagers, Russian spies, literary summit…

THE MORNING LIST

This week, history in the making, for better and for worse. The young generation followed by François Chevré has entered high school. Donald Trump will make his move to the White House in January 2025, with a wind coming from Moscow in his sails. A rare trip to Bhutan, at the foot of the Himalayas, a model student in the fight against global warming yet threatened by the melting of glaciers. And another mountain, magical, the summit of literature which brought glory and a Nobel Prize to Thomas Mann (1875-1955).

Coline, Mohamed, Lilou, Riwan and Maël enter second grade

It's the first year of high school for Coline, Mohamed, Lilou, Riwan and Maël, the five young people from Rennes who can be found once a year since 2020 and until 2029 in front of François Chevré's camera. Halfway through this unique adventure – following them for a decade and reporting on it in an annual documentary – the director still aims to paint the youthful portrait of a generation. We, the viewers, find them more like distant second cousins, whom we only see once a year, during the end-of-year holidays, with benevolent curiosity.

Like a ritual, episode 5 begins with the start of the school year in September 2023, but this time at high school: in Chateaubriand (Rennes), for Riwan, Mohamed, Maël and Coline, and at the Simone-Veil general and technological high school in Liffré ( Ille-et-Vilaine), for Lilou. Entry into second year constitutes an indisputable level in the school curriculum. Are they aware of it? “I'm a 15-year-old child looking for directions, that's all! »said Mohamed.

A « Chateau »as the students call it, a young teacher states “the rule of the 4Ds: desire, decision, determination and discipline”. In addition to the timeless parent-child dialogues about grades or lack of work, there are some socially instructive sequences: parent-teacher meetings; teenagers' rooms; the obligatory end-of-year internships… François Chevré also seems to be looking for guidance. Only half of parents play the game, while adolescents become by nature more and more independent, at the risk of a certain superficiality. Courage: just apply the “4D rule”. C. Pa.

You have 76.4% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.