L'année de l'éveil (1991)

In 1948, 14-year-old François is enrolled at the military school in Aix-en-Provence. At first, he is very withdrawn. He is fascinated by boxing. We learn that he used to play rugby, but since his friend died, he no longer wants to play the sport. Through perseverance, he manages to gain greater acceptance from his superior, who invites him to spend a weekend at his home because he knows François does not go back to his parents, since he is an orphan. François then meets Léna, his superior’s wife, and their young daughter. François soon falls in love with Léna, and she returns his feelings. She finds in François a tenderness that her husband does not give her; he is even violent toward her. François will regularly return to his superior’s home and take up boxing again. During training, he meets Galène, a new recruit in his section. Galène hates violence and boxing. He encourages François to write about his sorrows and his life rather than take them out on a punching bag—or, worse, on someone. Galène will show him that he will grow more by writing than by using violence. François and Galène’s section leader will have to leave and will be replaced. François will provoke him, and, escalating from one provocation to the next, he will eventually go too far and be placed in solitary confinement. Despite his confinement, François will continue to write. Galène and François are sent to war, where Galène will lose his life. When François returns, he finds Léna again. He also learns that his first superior, who was married to Léna, killed himself on his motorcycle after discovering the love letters François and Léna had exchanged. With no obstacles left between them, they will live together. The title “The Year of Awakening” refers to François’s development: through the encounters he has, he gains maturity and gradually becomes a man.