Daniel Mangeas

In July 2010, Laurent Fignon, the great cycling legend, commented on the Tour de France. Although the two-time tour winner of the 80s has incurable cancer, he follows as a reporter day by day the entire race. His doctor should treat him medically during the tour. After facing each other in disgust, the two men develop more understanding for each other from stage to stage. For Laurent, ending this tour means upholding life, even though broadcasting efforts are reducing the chances of a successful life-prolonging therapy.

Combining the author's poetic voice with those of Bernard Hinault, Antoine de Caunes, and Daniel Mangeas, the film offers a passionate journey into the heart of the history and imagination of the Tour. It captures the spirit of the great epics, the Anquetil-Poulidor duel, Yvette Horner's accordion, the popular fervor, but also the physical and spectacular reality of the dangers of racing. Women's cycling plays an important role thanks to the testimony of Cédrine Kerbaol. The contemporary scene is represented by cyclist Guillaume Martin.

Zones césariennes (which covers the year 2002) is one of Gérard Courant's Filmed Notebooks shot on film. These episodes now coexist with their counterparts filmed on videotape. They are two films with parallel lives but opposing destinies, colliding and eyeing each other warily. They represent two approaches, two styles, two different ways of understanding cinema. Two methods for unfolding time, grasping memory, and exploring the world.