To Battle!

THE SUBJECT: The adventure of the “cultural exception” in 1993 in the face of American cinema, represented by Jack Valenti.

THE METHOD: A voice-over by the narrator, an imaginary incarnation of Jack Valenti, President of the Motion Picture Association of America, reenacted illustrative passages, archival footage, on-camera interviews with Alain Juppé, Jacques Toubon, Pierre Lescure, Costa-Gavras, Pascal Rogard, Brigitte Fossey and others, complete with film clips, all divided into three acts.

THE BONUS: This political documentary, focused on an artistic theme called the “cultural exception,” is billed as a merciless battle. It cites a “David versus Goliath” analogy, pitting historical Germinal on the French side against Jurassic Park, the mega blockbuster of the Americans. In this respect, it clearly reconstructs an era when “happy globalization” was being championed. Jack Valenti is both original and effective in adopting the perspective of “the enemy.” This documentary is not addressed to “industry insiders,” developing instead like a thriller, a race to see who will prevail, complete with unexpected twists and turns. The suspense is on par with the subject matter itself. Valenti comes across as a formidable and respectable adversary who associated with the likes of Malraux and Lyndon Johnson, the future president of the United States! The well-edited archival footage reveals a France for whom–notwithstanding technicalities of customs tariffs and culture export–cinema is a matter of life and death, a precious heritage, representing the very soul of a nation.

Virginie Apiou