France Trailer (2016)

Trailer for the documentary France.

In May 2015, Raymond Depardon set off to drive through France towing an old camper. He crossed the country from north to south, calling in at 15 towns and cities along the way. Wherever he stopped, he asked the local people he met if they would continue the conversation in his camper. This documentary is the account of his journey through provincial France. From Calais to Sète and from Cherbourg to Bayonne, Depardon finds people who are prepared to divulge the intimate details of their lives. In a sense, the documentary is a sequel to Journal de France (2012), in which the celebrated director and photographer went in search of characteristic French landscapes and street corners. This time he concentrates on listening to people: the young couple discussing baby clothes, the two old friends reminiscing about the past, and the mother who misses her son. The music of Alexandre Desplat makes this carefully composed sample of contemporary French life complete.