''The Tree, the Mayor and the Mediatheque'' (french: L'Arbre, le maire et la médiathèque; known also as ''Les sept hasards'') is a 1993 French comedy-drama film written and directed by

Éric Rohmer Jean Marie Maurice Schérer or Maurice Henri Joseph Schérer, known as Éric Rohmer (; 21 March 192011 January 2010), was a French film director, film critic, journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and teacher. Rohmer was the last of the post-World ...

. The film was shown at the 1993

Montreal World Film Festival The Montreal World Film Festival (WFF; french: le Festival des Films du Monde) was one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF (although the Toronto Interna ...

where it received the FIPRESCI prize. The frame story involves the mayor of an isolated French village who, to further his political ambitions, secures a grant to build a sporting and cultural centre, but the necessary felling of a fine willow outrages the schoolteacher and his daughter. Within the frame there is much debate about the current state of France: city versus country, agriculture versus industry, conservatism versus progress, the environment versus growth.

Plot

Saint-Juire-Champgillon Saint-Juire-Champgillon () is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France. Geography The river Smagne forms most of the commune's southern border. commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la L ...

, a remote village of traditional

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

adherence in the

Vendée Vendée (; br, Vande) is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.

, Julien Dechaumes has inherited the manor house and grounds and has been elected mayor, though he spends much of his time in Paris with his mistress. There he successfully lobbies the Ministry of Culture for a grant to build a state-of-the-art sports and media centre. By enhancing his reputation in the area, it will boost his chances of entering national politics under the socialist banner. Opinion in the village is mixed, with the most passionate opposition coming from the schoolteacher, for whom the destruction of a 100-year-old willow symbolises all that is wrong about the plan. When a journalist on a left-wing magazine visits the village to talk to people, her editor cuts her piece to focus on the teacher and the tree. The teacher's ten-year-old daughter explains to the mayor that all the children want is not the sophisticated facilities on offer but just green space and trees. A survey reveals that the water table has dropped alarmingly, needing costly groundworks that make the whole project unviable.

Cast

Pascal Greggory Pascal Greggory (born 8 September 1954) is a French actor. Personal life Greggory is openly gay. He had long-term relationships with Patrice Chéreau and François-Marie Banier. Filmography * '' Les Sœurs Brontë'' (1979) by André Téchiné * ...

as Julien Dechaumes, the mayor * Arielle Dombasle as Bérénice Beaurivage, the mayor's lover *

Fabrice Luchini Fabrice Luchini (; born Robert Luchini; 1 November 1951) is a French stage and film actor. He has appeared in films such as '' Potiche'', ''The Women on the 6th Floor'', and '' In the House''. For his role in the 2015 film '' Courted'' he won t ...

as Marc Rossignol, the school teacher * as Blandine Lenoir, the reporter *

François-Marie Banier François-Marie Banier () (born ) is a French novelist, playwright, artist, actor and photographer. He is particularly known for his photographs of celebrities and other public figures and for his friendships with members of high society. In a pr ...

as Régis Lebrun-Blondet, the magazine editor

External links

* * * 1993 films 1993 comedy-drama films 1990s French-language films Films about politicians Films directed by Éric Rohmer Films set in Paris Films shot in Paris French comedy-drama films 1990s French films {{1990s-France-film-stub