BON POUR LE SERVICE (Good to serve)

Film censored by the Film Control Commission because of the “subversive nature of the comments made about the army and military service” (Letter from the Ministry of Information, 5 August 1963). Apart from work, what do they offer you?… the twist and… military service. This sentence represents the opinion of a young boy interviewed immediately after passing his review board and asked for his impressions. In fact, part of the film is devoted to interviewing young boys who are allowed to speak for themselves rather than on their behalf. Another part of the film is a live report on the board of revisers. But it’s also a love story, the story of how a boy and a girl meet at a conscripts’ ball, once the draft board has passed. This meeting brings us back to the problem of the beginning : at 18, what do we want ? At 18, what do you get ? The film ends with a question: when you’re 18, what’s waiting for you ?