The new "French State" was born on July 10, 1940, in Vichy, in the Grand Casino theater. In a few days, the Hôtel du Parc, the Majestic, the Portugal, luxury establishments typical of pre-war Vichy, became the headquarters of a regime to which the small spa town would give its name. The terms of collaboration with the Nazi regime had been established as early as June. The hotels became ministries and parliamentary residences, before the Gestapo and its auxiliary, the Milice, set up their dungeons in Portugal and the Petit Casino.
On site, the filmmakers met men and women who, in their youth, were able to watch this sticky little world of the "National Revolution" live. Two of these witnesses, because they were Jewish, lived there as outlaws; one joined the resistance, another was among Laval's lawyers at his trial, a fifth was the daughter of a parliamentarian of the regime. Through their words, it is the history of collaboration and resistance that is written, with its ambiguities and its commitments.
Walks, greetings, hugs from chubby children… Pétain remains in the memory of many Vichy residents as a father and this documentary reveals the unsuspected strength of his myth in French memories. Remembering Vichy is mixing dreams, nightmares and reality, in the same way that Last Year at Marienbad, by Alain Resnais, makes us lose our footing in the troubled waters of memory. With this past that seems to await us in the peaceful alleys of the city, Bertrand de Solliers brings out the palpable unease caused by the era.
Last year in Vichy
Directors: Bertrand de Solliers, Paule Muxel
Producers: JULIANTO, ARTE FRANCE
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