Mouss et Hakim, controled origins
November 2011
This film will tell the story of a tour of France undertaken by two children of "controlled origin"—as Mouss and Hakim wryly put it. For us, the reference to the century-old schoolbook Le Tour de la France par deux enfants by Augustine Fouillée is far more than a mere nod; published in the wake of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, this reader was a fiercely patriotic manual designed to shape the education and morals of young French children. Written under the pseudonym "G. Bruno," the book recounted the journey of two children, André and Julien Volden, who—following the Prussian annexation of Alsace-Lorraine and the death of their father—set out to find their uncle across France’s beautiful provinces. The book was steeped in nationalism and a martial spirit, instilling the values of the Third Republic—equality and citizenship—with a heavy hand, ensuring that no one dared to stand out from the crowd.
