Year: 1959
Language: French
Format: 16mm Black & White
Runtime: 57 min
Director: René Bail
Producer: René Bail
Writer: René Bail
Editor: René Bail
Cast: Roger Tremblay, Régent Tremblay, Michel Pelland, Serge Guénette

Les Désoeuvrés follows one afternoon in the lives of four youths from a small village who have nothing to do. They borrow an uncle’s truck and, following an afternoon in the woods, vandalize an old house. After the truck gets stuck in the mud, they are forced to walk home.

This docudrama was produced independently by director René Bail, who was virtually unknown but became legendary to a group of dedicated cineastes. Though shown theatrically only once (in 1961), it aroused considerable interest among filmmakers and critics in Montreal. As Michel Brflé later remarked: "Everyone who saw this film was enthused about its freshness and simplicity." Jean Pierre Lefebvre wrote a long analysis of the film and the editors of Objectif later praised Bail’s extraordinary qualities as an observer, and his unique sense of realism.