- April 1974. The Federal Councellor, annoyed by the anti-establishment tone of The French speaking Swiss radio channel, imposes "safer" subjects on Philippe de Roulet, the programs director. To please him, de Roulet sends to Portugal a team composed of Julie, a dedicated feminist, Cauvin, a former war reporter sidelined since he started losing memory, and Bob, a sound technician close to retirement, with the mission to report on the impact of Swiss aid to the country. They comply more or less reluctantly, but the results of their investigation are so pathetic that they decide to drop the whole thing and to drive back to Lausanne. This is exactly the time when their path crosses that of a trio of Belgian journalists who tell them that a full-scale revolution is under way...—Guy Bellinger
- April 1974, two journalists working for the Swiss radio are sent to Portugal to make a reportabout Swiss aid there. Bob, a sound technician nearing retirement, goes along for the rideaboard his trusty mobile broadcast unit VW van. However, once there, nothing seems togo as planned. What with abandoned projects and others serving as a deposit to colonialtheses for supporters of Salazar, the atmosphere is highly charged between Julie, thefeminist, and the wily war correspondent, Chauvin. Not even the cheery disposition ofPelé, the young Portuguese translator, makes any difference and the team decides tothrow in the towel. But the wind of historic change steers the VW to the centre of theCarnation Revolution, turning Cauvin into a hero of the people even though hes unableto speak a word of their language, Julie into a devotee who is not quite as liberated as sheimagined and Pelé into an ardent revolutionary with an allergy to carnations. As for Bob,there is no way that the sexual freedom young people have been demanding since May68 is going to elude him on this beautiful April night of 1974.When democracy crosses your path, you must be ready to seize it no matter what, even ifit means practicing a little civil disobedience, considered a deadly sin by any good law-abiding Swiss.
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