The 3-year window when French punk almost became mainstream—and immediately imploded.
Following the release of Bérurier Noir's album "Concerto pour détraqués" on the Bondage label in 1985, the French punk scene began to organize itself and attract media attention. Following Bondage's example, François Hadji Lazaro founded the Boucherie Production label. The departure of bands to major companies, Bérurier Noir's lawsuit against its label Bondage, and above all the breakup of the band marked the end of an era.
Direction
Mahé weaves chaotic archival footage into coherent tragedy.
Editing
Rapid-fire cuts match punk's nervous energy.
Director
Yves-Marie Mahé
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This period coined 'rock alternatif' as a marketing term to sanitize punk for French radio—essentially inventing 'alternative' as a genre category years before the US caught on.
Manu Chao appears here as a nervous young punk, pre-Mano Negra fame. The doc captures him before he'd become the most famous French-language musician alive.
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