Trailer for Longwave (Les grandes ondes (à l'ouest)).
It’s 1974, and a French-speaking Swiss radio crew has been dispatched to Portugal for a puff piece on Swiss philanthropy in the then-developing country. Vying for command of this fool’s errand are faltering feminist Julie (Valérie Donzelli, director/star of 2012 Festival favorite Declaration of War), who’s been sleeping with the boss in the hopes of getting a primetime slot for her women’s issues show, and Cauvin (La Comédie-Française vet Michel Vuillermoz), a weathered war reporter whose memory is as spotty as his Portuguese. Just when it seems their report is a total bust, fortune arrives in the form of Lisbon’s “Carnation Revolution,” sweeping the inhibited Swiss up in a sensational tide of political and sexual liberation—and the scoop of a lifetime.
Perfectly capturing the buoyant spirit (and aesthetics) of 1970s comedies, Longwave’s screwball humor derives its heart from the actors’ warm and genial performances. Rousing Gershwin tunes, a delightful impromptu musical number and a script cleverly lined with deadpan jokes to balance out the nostalgic sight gags, meanwhile, give the movie its irresistible energy.