''Le Péril jeune'' () or ''The Good Old Daze'' is a 1994 French

coming of age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

comedy-drama directed by

Cédric Klapisch Cédric Klapisch ( ; born 4 September 1961) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer. Life and career Klapisch was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine. He is from a Jewish family; his maternal grandparents were deported to ...

. The movie takes place in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

during the 1970s.

Plot

Ten years after having left high school, four friends, Momo, Léon, Alain and Bruno meet for the birth of the child of their friend Tomasi, who recently died. Together they dwell on their mutual memories concerning their last year at their Parisian high school during the seventies. This includes

demonstrations Demonstration may refer to: * Demonstration (acting), part of the Brechtian approach to acting * Demonstration (military), an attack or show of force on a front where a decision is not sought * Protest, a public act of objection, disapproval or d ...

, first experiments with drugs and women and also the contents of the courses.

Cast

Romain Duris Romain Duris (; born 28 May 1974) is a French actor. He is best known for his role in Cédric Klapisch's ''Spanish Apartment'' trilogy, which consists of '' L'Auberge Espagnole'' (2002), '' Russian Dolls'' (2005), and '' Chinese Puzzle'' (2013) ...

as Tomasi ** A rebellious, hedonistic teenager. When Barbara's friends introduce him to drugs, he quickly turns into a self-destructive truant who hangs around most of his time in Barbara's squat. Still he hits on Sophie and befathers her with a child before he dies of a drug overdose. *Julien Lambroschini as Bruno **Tomasi's best friend, and the most artistically talented of the group. He falls in love with Barbara and leads his friends into the squat where she lives with addicts. Due to this, and because he believes he could have saved Tomasi if only he had been a better friend, Bruno blames himself for Tomasi's death. *Joachim Lombard as Léon Rouvel **The most politically conscious of the group and the brother of a high school dean. Their relationship is tense, especially because his brother was involved in the May 1968 events and accuses Léon's friends of just parroting

catchphrases A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

. (Only late Léon will admit he never understood what

class struggle In political science, the term class conflict, class struggle, or class war refers to the economic antagonism and political tension that exist among social classes because of clashing interests, competition for limited resources, and inequali ...

is actually about). As a

Class President A class president, also known as a class representative, is usually the leader of a student body class, and presides over its class cabinet or organization within a student council. In a grade school, class presidents are generally elected by ...

Léon is often torn between his friends and his responsibilities. He has a huge crush on fellow class president Christine (

Hélène de Fougerolles Hélène Christine Marie Rigoine de Fougerolles (; born 25 February 1973) is a French people, French actress who was twice nominated for the César Award for Most Promising Actress (known as the French Academy Awards, Oscar) for Arthur Joffé's L ...

), but doesn't dare to act upon it because her preppiness is the target of her friends' ridicule. That he will regret he later on. * Nicolas Koretzky as Maurice 'Momo' Zareba **The son of a

deaf-mute Deaf-mute is a term which was used historically to identify a person who was either deaf and used sign language or both hearing impairment, deaf and muteness, could not speak. The term continues to be used to refer to deaf people who cannot speak ...

baker A baker is a tradesperson who baking, bakes and sometimes Sales, sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient histo ...

, with whom he has a strained relationship. While his father takes it for guaranteed that his son will become a baker too, Momo feels guilty for having other plans. * Vincent Elbaz as Alain Chabert **A reckless teenager who concentrates on sports and parties. He is somewhat of a class clown, often irritating his friends who consider him immature. Within the group, Chabert is the only one who seems to retain his integrity throughout the movie. *

Lisa Faulkner Lisa Tamsin Faulkner (born 19 February 1972) is an English actress, presenter and television chef. She has had roles in '' The Lover'' (1992), '' Dangerfield'' (1995), '' Brookside'' (1997–1998), '' Holby City'' (1999–2001), '' Spooks'' (2 ...

as Barbara **A

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

student who came to France as an assistant English teacher. She dwells in a squat with a bunch of

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...

s, who indulge in heavy drug use (particularly

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD (from German ; often referred to as acid or lucy), is a semisynthetic, hallucinogenic compound derived from ergot, known for its powerful psychological effects and serotonergic activity. I ...

). She falls for Bruno but their relationship dissolves when she heads back to England. *

Julie-Anne Roth Julie-Anne Roth (born 31 March 1973) is a French actress. From 1996 to 1999 Roth studied at the CNSAD. She appeared in more than sixty films since 1989. Theater Filmography Film Television Awards and nominations References Ext ...

as Marie **a friend of the boys' who is committed to

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

. Yet she implies once being sexually harassed was flattering after all. She is very politically conscious, making their friends believe she and Léon will eventually become a couple. Léon later explains that this very expectation kept them from ever dating. *

as Christine *

Élodie Bouchez Élodie Bouchez (born 5 April 1973) is a French actress. She became internationally known for her role as Renée Rienne on the fifth and final season of the television show '' Alias'' and for playing Maïté Alvarez in the film '' Wild Reeds''. ...

as Sophie * Caroline Damiens as Nora * Coco Bouiller as Félicité * Eric Andreini as Thierry *

Jackie Berroyer Jackie Berroyer (born 24 May 1946) is a French actor, comedian and writer. Filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Berroyer, Jackie 1946 births Living people French male film actors French male television actors 20th ...

as Jo *

Caroline Proust Caroline Proust (born 18 November 1967) is a French classically trained actress best known to international audiences for her role as Captain Laure Berthaud in the French TV series '' Spiral''. She has also appeared in the Netflix TV series Not ...

as Squat girl

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Peril Jeune 1994 films Films directed by Cédric Klapisch Films set in the 1970s Gaumont (company) films Films set in Paris French comedy-drama films 1990s French-language films 1990s French films