Taking Off (USA, 1971)

directed by Miloš Forman, comedy, 93 min, fr subtitles
written by Miloš Forman in collaboration with John Guare, Jean-Claude Carriere and John Klein
with Lynn Carlin, Buck Henry and Georgia Engel

A kind reflection of a confused generation of the 70s, their hopes, longings and problematic relationships with their conservative, respectful and hypocritical parents. Jeannie runs away from home because she can no longer stand her narrow-minded and old-fashioned parents. For them, this situation is quite a shock and they decide to seek help and meet other parents whose children also ran away. They gradually discover that life has a lot more to offer than they thought and, paradoxically, it is not Jeannie who lives the real adventures, but Lynn and Larry, her parents, who find themselves at a black-tie dinner meeting of the Society for Parents of Fugitive Children where everyone turns up with marihuana, get drunk and play strip poker, and always seem to be behaving badly when Jeannie comes home of her own accord from time to time...

Taking Off is the first American film by Miloš Forman after his emigration in which he offers a unique view of American freedom seen though the lenses of a director from a Communist country.

Awards:
Cannes Film Festival 1971 (Grand Prix)