Daughters Beyond Command

Three sisters are born into a modest Catholic family in Aix-en-Provence. Sabine, the eldest, dreams of an artist's life in Paris; Helene, the youngest, grew up between her uncle and her aunt, bourgeois from Neuilly-sur-Seine, and her parents, simple people; Mariette, the youngest, learns the secrets and silences of a dazzling and crazy world. In 1970, French society is moving; women have emancipated themselves whilst men have lost their bearings, and the three sisters, each in their own way, find ways to live a life of their own, a strong life, far from the morality, education and the religion of their childhood. This family chronicle, which takes us from after May 1968 to the momentous election night of May 10, 1981, is as much a tender and tragic stroll through this century as it is the chronicle of an era, where consciousnesses are awakening to the upheaval of the world and heralding the chaos to come.