Directed by Alain Tanner
123 minutes
In French with English subtitles

Two young Swiss women in their early 20s—Jeanne and Marie—who come from radically different backgrounds, meet while they are hitchhiking through the countryside and form a bond. They decide to travel together, but at one point they run out of money. They attempt to find ways to simply live and continue traveling, but they end up on a journey of no return, testing the limits of freedom in the modern world. This film is about their relationship, but also about two people attempting to break free from consumer society.

Some viewers see this is a proto-feminist/lgbt flick with a riot grrrl edge, but it is also about anyone who doesn't want to work at a dull job taking orders their whole life, just for the right to live. We pride ourselves as being free, but actually we are only free to the extent that we follow the rules. How free is a society that refuses to allow someone to travel carelessly around without money, enjoying the mountains and forests and streams—without being threatened with abuse, rejection, rape, accusations, insecurity or starvation? Without money you have almost no human rights at all anymore—no food, electricity, warmth or housing. Even the cops are against you. The movies of Alain Tanner chart the lives of outsiders—those who stop playing by the rules, or who simply can't fit in... and this is one of his most haunting films.

By the way, in case you were wondering, Messidor was the tenth month of the French Republican Calendar, and was named after the Latin word messis, which means harvest.

Hope to see you at this special screening.