The FRench scouts are relatively few (France is ranked 16th ,far behind the USA and the UK);there are 50 organizations,only 9 of which are recognized by the French government (it's important to fully understand the film);some scouts do not wear uniforms anymore,I met some of them a few years back when they helped us with our charity organization;but many of them have their own values ,their code of honor,and they do have God on their side(it's obvious in the film).There is a scout literature -which can be found in denominational schools libraries- ,with their writers ("Signe De Piste" collection):their perfect fictional hero ,now a little forgotten,was Le Prince Eric who epitomized their ideal - and self-sacrifice spirit , which is present in the movie too- whose saga sold more than one million copies.
Now for the MTV work:it's based on true events which happened in 1998,only the names were changed .Four scouts and a young man who comes to their rescue get drowned ,because of the criminal (not a truer word) negligence of the priest,responsible for the group;most amazing thing ,most of the parents stand by their saint man ,just saying it was God's will.Only two mothers sue the priest ,which leads one of them to divorce from a husband,securely under the influence of a person we must call a guru (the word is uttered in the movie).
This is above average MTV stuff ,done with a sense of decency: the tragedy is not shown ,but told by the helpless witnesses;the great dignity of the two rebel women (Isabelle Gelinas and Lea Drucker). The movie features strong intimate scenes:one mother throwing a rose into the sea which will never give her son's body back;the other one ,listening to her dead son's voice on the answering machine ,then discovering her husband has erased it.On the other hand,the part of the priest is a little underwritten.
Fundamentalism in any religion is a scourge of society.
