Red Needles

Red Needles (Les Aiguilles rouges) is a 2006 French drama directed by Jean-François Davy. The story draws directly on a real mountain hike the director made in July 1960, when he was fifteen, with his scout troop. A group of young scouts sets out on an expedition in Le Brévent, part of the Aiguilles Rouges range near Chamonix, facing Mont Blanc. What begins as an ordinary outing gradually turns into a struggle against the elements, forcing the boys to rely on one another to get through the ordeal. Davy reconstructs the adventure closely, keeping the nicknames, social backgrounds and sequence of events from his own memories, while adding a few touches for cinematic effect. The film was released in Spain in December 2007. The cast mixes adult performers such as Bernadette Lafont and Rufus with a group of young actors playing the scouts.