This social drama about the 1968 strike echoes the hot news: L’Etabli is a must-see at the cinema.

what are you talking about

A few months after May 68, Robert, a normal and left-wing activist, decided to get hired as an assembly line worker at Citroën. Like other comrades, he wants to enter the factory to ignite the revolutionary fire, but the majority of the workers no longer want to hear politics.

When Citroen decides to compensate for the Grenell agreements by requiring workers to work 3 hours of overtime for free per week, Robert and a few others then consider the possibility of a social movement.

strike party

According to the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, history would not be a straight line, but a loop whose events would repeat themselves at regular intervals and in different forms. And it is hard not to adhere to this theory when we see L’Établi, released this Wednesday, April 5, 2023 in French cinemas, while the movement opposing the pension reform does not weaken.

If you take a little less than fifty-five years between the time in which Matthias Gokalp’s film takes place (who already explored the world of work in 2008’s Nothing personal) and the time of its release, the responses are numerous. to a poster surmounted by the following slogan: “Infiltrate prepares the revolution”.

A term that often comes up during current events and which brings to life the character played by Swan Arlod, who portrays Robert Linhart, the author of the book from which the feature film is inspired. Or a university professor, a far-left militant, who manages to get hired on the assembly lines of the Citroën factory to rekindle the revolutionary flame that he believes has been extinguished among the workers since the end of May 68.

But he faces two obstacles in a row: the refusal of his new colleagues to get involved in politics, then the arbitrary decision of their superiors, which allows him to become the leader of the Sling. Five years after its first adaptation in the theater, L’Établi enjoyed the honor of the cinema, in the time of the feature film, performed by a solid cast, including Swan Arlod, Olivier Gourmand and lesser-known actors such as Malek Lamraoui (Ousekin). Dennis Podalides.

Melanie Thierry is also on this Established poster, which is certainly classic in its staging and narrative, but doesn’t lose sight of the notions of dehumanization, injustice, and social inequality that lie at the heart of its model. In addition to being personal to the director: “I grew up in a bourgeoisie where education tries to develop the qualities of individuals so that they can discover themselves and improve themselves”– says Mathias Gokalpi.

Kids in my age group were swallowed up and destroyed by this car

“When I read this book, I realized that the world did not function on this principle at all, and that the main purpose of society was the production of workers and the forces of production. Children my age could not go to school and. They had to work earlier than they would have liked. He absorbed and destroyed them with this machine.”

“Workbench made clear the violence, the absurdity, the madness and the impersonal nature of this car.” A violence that manifests itself on screen physically and morally, to a result that is surprising in its disappointing tone. As a harsh reality check.