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Growth is a funny thing. When we are young, we desperately want to grow old and have freedom of choice. Once we get older, we can’t help but reminisce about the good old days. Although the past may not have been perfect, we tend to look at it from rose-tinted glasses. So, the good things get filtered into our memories for the most part. Pablo Cotton & Joseph Rozé’s “Eternal Playground” (Original title: La récréation de Juillet) takes a similar, nostalgic dive into the past of a group of friends who get lost in the sweet memories of their childhood.
“Eternal Playground” centers around Gaspard (Andranic Manet), a former student returning to his old school as a music teacher. Before the school’s summer vacation begins, he tells his first batch of students about his past. On the surface, he seems like a surrogate for Jack Black’s character from “School of Rock.” Although not as energetic or vibrant, Gaspard also feels a bit out of his element in his position. Shortly before, he lost his twin sister. Since their birthday is just around the corner, he starts feeling lonelier.
With the students and teachers out of school for a while, Gaspard makes a surprise plan. He asks his old schoolmates to join him at the school until they celebrate his birthday. Before her death, Gaspard’s sister had written a letter addressing them. So, to honor her wishes, Adel (Alassane Diong), Lou (Alba Gaïa Bellugi), Esther (Carla Audebaud), Alma (Nina Zem), and Anthony (Arcadi Radeff) accept the invitation. They take a leave from their adult lives and their responsibilities to relive their childhood. After growing apart for many years, they decide to reunite and rekindle their memories.
During their time in the deserted school as adults, they start behaving like children, trying to latch on to the same innocent carelessness they once had. They also discuss their new lives, relationships, careers, and the unfulfilled potential. While doing so, they agree to give time to the parts of themselves they have lost along the way. They also agree to support each other through the issues they now have and to stay in touch. While exploring their individual narratives, “Eternal Playground” remains absolutely drenched in sentimentality. It explores their desires, their regrets, and their ambitions with a childlike innocence. Although this approach could have easily gone overboard, the sweetness is captivating for the most part.
Through a voice-over from Gaspard’s late sister, the film shows how he is caught up in their memories and her unfulfilled desires. As the narrative progresses, we learn about their common desire to experience the mysterious atmosphere of their school during the summer vacation. On the surface, it may seem silly and saccharine. But the direction explores this sentiment so well that it is hard not to fall for its nostalgic zeal. After all, the film is essentially an adult’s wish to go down memory lane.
The film doesn’t judge its characters. From what we learn, Gaspard seems emotionally immature, refusing to take any responsibilities as an adult and lacking awareness of his reality. But the film refuses to just blame him for his naivety. It investigates the reasons behind his immaturity, be it his unprocessed grief, years of loneliness, or his fear of being left behind, with sensitivity.
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The conflicts in “Eternal Playground” are mostly cliches that we have often seen in other school reunion dramas. This makes the narrative shifts largely predictable. Nevertheless, the film never pretends to have a rational or profound outlook toward life. It remains faithful to its sentimental tone and creates a largely evocative experience.
Andranic Manet’s central performance brings a sense of wide-eyed goofiness to his man-child character, which was prevalent in early 2000s Hollywood films. Although it feels adorable in the right proportions, it can get annoying over a stretch of period. But the remaining central cast balances out his anxious eccentricity with their naturalistic performances.
