Born in 68

Having a working knowledge of modern French history will help to understand Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau's Born in 68, which chronicles the triangular relationship between Catherine (Laetitia Casta), Yves (Yannick Renier), and Hervé (Yann Trégouët) against the backdrop of the country's political tumult and angst. Eventually, the trio's commitment to free love and anti-government protests wanes, with Catherine and Yves becoming a couple while odd-man-out Hervé disappears, only to return years later as a fugitive accused of murder. During the second half of this epic, originally presented as a two-part film on TV, a political generation gap arises as the children of Catherine and Yves stake out their own identities, with Boris (Théo Frilet) becoming actively involved in the AIDS awareness campaign, while Ludmilla (Sabrina Seyvecou) marries a fundamentalist Iranian immigrant. While the film suffers from predictable screenplay twists and the obvious mirroring of personal trials with national controversies, Born in 68 works well when stars Casta, Renier, and Trégouët recreate the carefree hippie spirit of the late 1960s—the effervescence of their free love relationship is genuinely compelling. Optional. (P. Hall)