Simon Werner a disparu…

Simon Werner, a pupil at a school near Paris, does not turn up to lessons one day. It is March 1992. His classmates find bloodstains in their classroom and rumours and theories are soon rampant. Has he been murdered? Run away? Been kidnapped? Everyone seems suspicious.
Then a second pupil also disappears without trace. From the perspective of four characters, the mystery is slowly unravelled. In the meantime, the confusing life of teenagers goes on as usual, filled with bullying, alternative rock music, betrayal and romances.
Fabrice Gobert’s feature debut skirts around several film genres and in its form bears similarities to Gus Van Sant’s high-school drama Elephant, with a similar fragmented structure and frequent use of lengthy Steadycam shots. Gobert makes use of excellent, unknown young actors and the always reliable Serge Riaboukine (9mm). The original soundtrack was aptly completed by Sonic Youth, with powerful ballads and minimalist guitars, augmented by tracks from the likes of The Cure and Tom Waits.

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