The year is 1959 and the war for Algerian independence has the French populace divided. The situation exists in microcosm in the Paris high school where young Julien Berg studies to be a teacher: the students are in a state of agitation as leftists clash with rightists who would keep Algeria French. Julien is uncommitted and unthinking, but in the midst of making his way through an enchanting world of girls, American movies and poker games he finds himself faced with sorting out his political commitments. A wealthy friend initiates him into the life of private clubs and right-wing espionage; an admired philosophy professor pulls him toward the left. Out of equal measures of passion and naiveté he becomes involved in subversive activities with deadly results. Liberty Belle is the second feature of director Pascal Kané, a former film critic for Cahiers du Cinema who visited PFA in 1978 with his first feature Dora and the Magic Lantern (1976).