Twenty-four hours in the life of Radio France, from one dawn to another. Along its corridors, inside its recording studios, with its producers, presenters, journalists and various guests. And outside on a motorbike in the wake of the Tour de France or in the company of a thunderstorm photographer.
This typically astute, alert and amusing observational documentary from Nicolas Philibert (Etre et Avoir) condenses six months at Radio France's Paris headquarters in 2011 into a day-in-the-life snapshot that takes viewers from the breakfast show to the graveyard shift. Although Philibert eavesdrops on production meetings, he is most concerned with the recording and broadcasting of everything from news bulletins and magazine programmes to recitals, quizzes and sportscasts. Famous faces like Umberto Eco and Jean-Claude Carrière pop up on chat shows, but Philibert seems most intrigued by drama producer Marguerite Gateau and news editor Marie-Claude Rabot-Pinson, whose respective ear for dialogue and nose for a breaking story are lauded in sequences edited with spellbinding precision. Superb camerawork ably captures the energy of the diverse activities taking place within this distinctive circular building (which gives the film its title), but it's the wonderful sound mix that best conveys the immediacy and intimacy that makes radio so unique.
| role | name |
|---|---|
| Director | Nicolas Philibert |
