At the outset, Olivier Assayas's Après mai is a biographical nostalgia piece about growing up in the aftermath of the May '68 events in France. But what it really is, is a social experiment in which 18-19 year olds, most of them first-time actors, reenact the youth of perhaps the most volatile time in contemporaneous French society, when the revolution seemed palpable - talking about his meta-ness and hall-of-mirrors. Assayas has a real knack for connecting with and getting great performances out of young actors The title refers to the student uprising and General Strike of May 1968. Something in the Air starts with a group of high school students' violent confrontation with baton wielding, teargas shooting cops on motorcycles. The scene is too energetic and immediate to be nostalgic. Set in 1971, this semi-autobiographical, ensemble piece about a group of friends in tumultuous times when everything seemed possible, is at once personal and sprawling. #Aprèsmai #olivierassayas #1968