|
Columns
Video
Currently Recapping
Popular People
|
Review of "Water Lilies"Their eagerness to transcend their marginal status makes Marie and Anne, like all outsiders, especially vulnerable to the manipulations (conscious or otherwise) of the popular kids. This brute observation about human nature floats the plot of Water Lilies, which paddles slowly before unleashing in a flood in the final quarter of the 85-minute film. In an entanglement worthy of the celebrated problem-solving skills of an octopus, Anne lusts after the alpha male swimmer, an Abercrombie zombie named François (Warren Jacquin), who wants to sleep with Floriane. But Floriane is not certain whether she's ready to have sex with a boy.
Meanwhile, Marie grows deeply infatuated with Floriane, even if she does not fully understand the implications of her same-sex attraction. But how else to explain her pawing through the trash to read torn bits of letters and gnaw on the fruit cores that Floriane has discarded? Cleverly, Sciamma leaves open the question of whether sulky Marie is on the verge of an overtly lesbian epiphany or is simply starstruck by Floriane, a girl so beautiful that she manages to look hot in a nose clip.
What does emerge with more clarity than municipal pool water is the way that Floriane uses Marie to help her navigate a bumpy entrance onto the road of adult heterosexuality. Any woman who's ever suffered a futile crush on a straight girl will identify with the abuse in which Marie is complicit. Floriane likes to keep Marie by her side, given that her devoted admirer serves as an alibi for her late afternoon meetings with François, or as a wingwoman to rescue her in the event of unwelcome male attention. Marie goes along with it, until a final request pushes their intense, unclassifiable connection to the brink.
Some powerful scenes ensue that teach Anne and Marie the enduring worth of their friendship, as opposed to the fleeting value of attractions, same-sex or otherwise. "We mustn't split up, Marie," Anne says toward the film's conclusion. "I do daft things by myself." Sciamma, 27, makes her feature debut with Water Lilies, a script she wrote as her graduation project at La Fémis, the prestigious French state film school. Her work arrives in the U.S. after being an official selection at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, winning the youth award at the 2007 Cabourg Romantic Film Festival, and tying for the 2007 Prix Louis Delluc for Best First Film. Viewers might want to add an accolade for best underwater shots of well-toned thighs in vigorous, synchronous motion.
Newcomers Blachère's and Haenel's performances were both
nominated for the 2008 César Award for Most Promising Actress. And Acquart
showcases the potential for subtleties beyond the brooding confines of her role
as Marie (but at least a quasi-lesbian character existed for her to play). Water Lilies is currently screening in the U.K. and is in limited release in the U.S. |
Recent blog posts
New forum topicsActive TopicsNew Comments
|
Welcome to AfterEllen.com!
- Login
- Join Now!
News, Reviews & Commentary on Lesbian and Bisexual women in Entertainment and the Media
Im' SOOO looking foward to
Im' SOOO looking foward to see this film!
And whats the difference between "Euro-teen angst" and US-teen angst?
the difference is...
It tends to be far sassier
(I wanted to say subtitles but the great redwood of a sloot above already took it from me.)
I disagree somewhat with
I disagree somewhat with the review. What is most fascinating is the interpretations of the characters. Of the three girls though, only Anne is depicted as definitively straight. There is never a doubt that Marie's interest in Floriane is strongly sexual, which becomes more and more explicit as the film gains momentum towards the end. This is no straight girl crushing on another girl but a young lesbian wanting another girl (yet being scared of that want due to insecurities related to body image, fear of rejection, and sexual inexperience). There is no intimation of sexual interest by Marie in men and to read the character as if this is not a young lesbian's awakening does an injustice to the portrait we are shown.
Most interesting is Florianne because what is shown is something far more complex. Florianne is a person interested in appearance. She has an image to live up to, the boy hungry woman who can't control her desires (it doesn't matter that it's an image that makes her unpopular with other girls). The image is not the truth. Florianne's behavior with boys and men is manipulative as is quite a bit of her action with Marie. However Florianne shows something with Marie she does not show with the boys and men, an attraction to her. While Florianne's flirting with the men is shown to be empty, an act designed to create a false character, her interests in Marie come from somewhere deeper and this is why her character is the most tragic. Florianne constantly stares at Marie in a way that implies sexual desire. She watches Marie's putting on a swimsuit when Marie is not paying attention and when Marie goes to sit by her Florianne's eyes linger on Marie's body (Florianne is attracted to what Marie sees as a weakness). The importance of watching how Florianne looks at Marie when Marie is not paying attention is extremely significant to understanding what Florianne is feeling. The problem is that Florianne both wants Marie and yet knows that goes against the image she feels must be projected.
This is brutally shown in two scenes. One is an act that Florianne asks Marie to do for apparently ulterior motives and which Florianne also makes clinical (an attempt to lessen what the act means and simplify the complex feelings she has - getting what she wants while disguising it's meaning). The second is just as devastating - a kiss that shows Florianne asking for Marie to come to her, being exhilarated (brilliant acting for this is the most overt moment when Florianne shows what she really desires), and finally a rejection of the act that exhilarated her. While Marie and Anne are free to be who they want to, Florianne rejects her true wants, her true desires, because she feels obligated to play the promiscious straight girl (while in reality she is gay) - a role that others have given to her due to her physical appearance. It is here that Sciamma, an out director, best comprehends the societal obligations that so many femmes try to carry out, no matter how destructive to their being. This is Sciamma's most telling criticism, that by deciding someone's sexuality by looks (as the other girls and boys do when around Florianne) she feels forced to live up to something she isn't. While Anne and Marie get a chance to grow into who they really are, Florianne is forced to be who she isn't. She must continually reject what she desires which is the true tragedy. As long as sexuality is defined by looks (and lesbians are just as guilty as straight men, straight women, and gay men of deciding women are gay or straight by appearance) such tragedies will play out.
Wow what great insight. I
Wow what great insight. I saw this film recently and really enjoyed it. There were a few pieces I couldn't put together but now seem to make sense after reading that. I agree, Marie was certain of her feelings for Floriane, she just wasn't sure what to do with them. Floriane used that but the feelings weren't unrequited. I wouldn't call it a straight girl crush at all. At every oppurtunity Floriane used sexuality to casualise her feelings for Marie, but there were also scenes were her feelings for her were obvious. Especially the ceiling scene, and the scene with the necklace. I knew a girl just like Floriane, and under all that front lies a lot of fear, or maybe just confusion. I think you are right, I think until people feel free to be themselves there will always be great losses like the one implied in this film.
I think there was a paralell between Anne and Marie, they both seemed to do the samekind of ritualising and obsessing over their respective interests. They both seemed to experience the same kind of thing. I can't tell whther that is significant or not yet.
Also I feel compelled to add that the final few scenes were perfect. One of the best things I've seen in cinema. The score was composed by a french producer by the name of Para One, it's really something.
Great summary Ediana!
Your comment is spot on, especially about how the characters' sexuality is presented. I had to watch this twice to pick up on some of the subtleties. The second time around I paid more attention to Floriane, since it's tempting for the viewer to discover this world from Marie's point of view. There's so many moments in the movie where you can see how repressed Floriane is, and how little satisfaction she gets out of playing the role she thinks she has to play. Her character is the most tragic, and despite her posturing, she's definitely not straight. She immediately reads the attraction in Marie's approach to her, and Marie's quickly obvious fascination-turned-devotion. She encourages Marie - which is unusual, for a girl who, in her interactions with the other girls, is more interested in setting herself apart, in pretending she has no time for them because she's only interested in the boys. Sciamma definitely gives you room to sit on the fence, for a little while, about whether Floriane's friendship with Marie is based on loneliness and her need to manipulate others, or if it's attraction. But you can't be on the fence for long, seeing all of Floriane's long glances at Marie, her touches to Marie's hands, hair or swimsuit... when Floriane's changing on the train, she glances over quickly, trying to catch Marie's reaction. With the boys she's flirtatious, but she seems bored, her body language is backed away, and she approaches her encounters with men as tasks, sometimes unwanted (stalling the swim coach.) Compare her with Anne's obsession with the swimmer boy, or even the straight girls at the swim party, goofing off with the boys, (or any straight girl at fifteen you remember from adolescence, even the most jaded.) Floriane is a little too much of an ice queen, always distant - except around Marie, when she's alive for a few moments, before rejecting her own feelings. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the kiss, which is the essence of the relationship between Floriane and Marie.
As for Marie, I think she's is definitely intended to be seen as a baby dyke, particularly since the writer/director's out. She's devoted to Floriane, there's absolutely no question; boys/men are an afterthought, and when Marie even interacts with a male, they're something she literally tries to rescue Floriane from (the scene at the club.) She's horribly wounded every time Floriane puts her at second best: she loves her. She even tells Anne she has a crush on "somebody", expressed after Anne reveals her intimate relationship, avoiding the gender identification...
Anyway, this movie is brilliant. As for complains about the tone and ending - I don't think a happily ever after ending would be realistic for teen girls, but drama and confusion and broken hearts, oh, definitely. And it's the kind of drama you're going to love, not the kind that makes you depressed about the world. So go see this movie now!
Spot on!
Ediana, Lemona and Wake up..... I just saw the film last Thursday, and I am still haunted by it and I find myself continuously analysing and mulling over the relationship between Marie and Floriane. I actually read this review and your reactions to it before I saw the movie, and while I was reading the review I was thinking 'pffffffff.... yawn, another patronising straight girl crushing on straight girl movie' but when I read your comments about your own insights into the movie I knew that I had to check it out immediately.... So thanks girls, because if you hadn't shared your opinions, I would probably have missed out on one of the most touching, beautiful, powerful movies that I have ever seen!
And I can't really add much to what you three said about the complexity of Floriane's feelings and character and the nature of her relationship with Marie.... You pretty much said what I think perfectly..... All the times that Floriane rejects Marie or puts on her manipulative 'ice queen' act is when they are around other people- at the club when they are surrounded by others Floriane cruelly flirts with Marie then rejects her, after the 'deflowering' scene, when Marie holds Floriane's hand we can clearly see in Floriane's face and her lingering, apologetic body language the struggle she feels about leaving Marie. but when Marie goes downstairs and finds Floriane with her boyfriend, Floriane is much cooler and appears to want to get rid of her (a facade in front of the boyfriend).....
And all the time that Floriane interacts with others (boys she flirts with, her teammates and in the very beginning with Marie etc) she has a very cool, aloof, icy, detatched demeanour (almost like a protective shell seperating her from baring her true self to others), but once she gets to know Marie and becomes attracted to her, she becomes alive around her and drops the act.... but only when they are away from the eyes of others. She confides in Marie and allows herself to truly 'be'..... And the loving, emotional smiles and gazes that she constantly cast at Marie are infinitely more telling than the empty, flirting motions that she goes through with men.
And let's not forget the beautiful scene when her and Marie are sitting alone on the steps and Floriane tells Marie of her sexual incidents with men and she puts on a tough, front about it..... but when she discovers that Marie is innocent of such things, for the first time her facade crumbles and she visibly softens as she tells Marie that she's lucky. If she really is such a slutty bad girl, surely she would enjoy these male attentions? It is a scene that is very telling, IMHO
I'm sorry- know that I'm rambling on (and believe me I'm only warming up now!), but I am constantly analysing this movie in my head, in particular Floriane........
It really is such an incredibly beautiful movie, yet very sad too :-(
(*blistering guitar feedback*)
I believe that your
I believe that your interpretation is as good as anybody else interpretation. That’s one thing that I love about French movies, most of them give you room for your personal interpretation and you’re able to see what you want to see.
In my own interpretation I happen to absolutely agree with you, I saw in this beautiful film almost exactly what you tell. I saw lesbian desire, attraction and teenager angst that somehow remind me of my own teenager years. I saw no confusion at all; every character knew what they were doing without thinking about consequences just as most actions are done at that age. I feel Céline Sciamma’s complex screenplay was so close to real life that almost hurts.
I just loved this film as it is one of the best lesbian movies I have seen lately, not only for the story but also for the excellent production values, superb performances by the three leads and a great director and storyteller.
Still, it is interesting to read other interpretations to the same stimuli, as whatever someone understood becomes more a projection of them that allows us to see the rich diversity in our community.
well said...
a more accurate review...
and thank you for that....
i'm sure many of us can relate to Florianne's turmoil because others insist on seeing her as 'hetero' due to her looks. to this day, it continues to frustrate and piss me off when i STILL hear "oh, but you don't LOOK like a lesbian"...f**k off, really!
www.myspace/epona_sister
Loved your review!
Beautifully written Ediana!
Interesting view
I agree that Florianne is the most interesting and complex character in this movie. One can also interprete that Florianne is the kind of person who like to be admired and desired.
[SPOILER AHEAD]
Did she really reject François? Then why let Marie do it?
Actually...
I got the feeling Floriane was mad at Marie... because she
*Spoiler*
Didn't kiss her or gave her any comfort after she 'slept with her'; when Marie finally kisses her at the end Floriane says: "See that wasn't so hard" and then she brushes her off, pretending she's into that guy at the party, but when we see her again she is dancing alone... you get the feeling she did it to hurt Marie some kind of pay back for hurting her. I don't know if Marie understands she was too late...
*end of Spoiler*
I think Floriane doesn't care what people think of her, she wants to shock them and do crazy things. she doesn't care what her parents think or her "friends" she is a loner and proved more then once she does what she wants when she wants too, that's why I don't think she is scared of being a lesbian or with Marie. she was the one to initiate almost, no I think it was every sexual encounter between them... I think in a way maybe Marie let her down... it was too little too late...
I'd love to know what you guys think of this, is it just in my head?
anyways I loved the music! especially the scene at the end. beautiful and hunting. the acting was wonderful, the use of colors and underwater shoots was great I loved it!
I am sorry for my contry
Hi I'm French and I don't understand why french film are so sad or whit so drama, I really don't like this film!! for me it's not a lesbian movie but a sad tennage movie.
OK!! we don't have a good,positive lesbian movie but some of us are happy and live very well her difference ;-)
and thank god,afertellen it's here for us ;-) now I can't live whitout!!!!!
bye bye!!! ;-)
PS: pour les francophones: non sans rire les filles qui a aimer ce film triste et déprimant, c'est pourtant pas dur de fair des films sympas et positife sur les lesbiennes on a que les trucs anglophones pour nous consoler!!!! ha non Japonais aussi "love my life" été vraiment tres bien!!!!
bon voila petit coup de guelle d'une française déprimé par sont cinéma!!!!
Manousmile
Manousmile
... oh, but France birthed some of the best motion pictures in the cinematographic history...
;)
Naissance des Pieuvres is a good movie
I have to say Manousmile that I entirely disagree with you.
It's not because this movie has no conventional happy ending that you must consider it "sad". Sometimes a good movie has to be close to reality to find its depth and teenagehood is far from being only about rainbows and butterflies no matter your sexual orientation. I have to say that I found the conclusion rather positive even if the girls didn't lock themselves up in a bathroom at school to come out (literaly and metaphorically) a few minutes later (though I loved that filmed version of teenage troubled sexual identity too!).
Et puis, ne sois pas si négative, tu veux un bon film français lesbien ? une comédie de préférence ? Regarde Pourquoi pas moi ? ^_-
excé de négativiter!! sorry for my nagativity!!!!
Ok je l'admet je suis négative et ce film ma pas plus du tous et JulieGabi tu a raison pourquoi pas moi et un des meilleur film que j'ai vus mais maintenant il date un peu malheureusement...
il faut quand même reconaitre qu'en France on a pas des masses de repressentation positive de lesbienne....shobiz, film et série confondu....
enfin c'est mon avis je suis peut etre trop tourné sur les séries américaine et anglaise...;-)
I'am sorry for mi négativity but I didn't like this film maybe I'm a too much positive personne who like comédi only it's possible ;-)....
bye manousmile ;-)
Naissance des Pieuvres
Salut! Je suis partiellement d'accord avec toi. Une certaine tristesse ressort de ce film, mais elle vient de l'état d'esprit que l'on ressent à l'adolescence. Du moins, dans l'ambiance de Naissance des Pieuvres, je m'y suis retrouvée. L'histoire en elle-même n'est triste que du fait que cela se rapproche de la réalité.
Mais je dois te l'accorder, la plupart des films français ont souvent ce style et pour une fois qu'un film lesbien sort, on préférerait quelque chose d'un peu plus joyeux.
Cependant, je dois avouer que j'ai aimé ce film, c'est pourquoi j'ai trouvé le post d'Ediana tout à fait pertinent. Je n'aurais pas pu mieux l'exprimer.
Hi! I partially agree with you. There's a certain sadness in this movie, but it comes from the mood we feel during the teenage years. At least, in this movie I found myself at that age. The story is sad because it's close to reality.
But I have to agree with you, most of french movies have the same style and for once we have a lesbian movie we would prefer a happier one.
However, I have to say that I liked this movie, this is why I agree totally with Ediana. I wouldn't have express myself in any better way.
Bye et à bientôt les filles.
Mily
Pas si déprimant que ca qd mm ^_^
J'ai bien aimé le film moi. Contrairement au film américain qui sont un peu trop souvent irréelles. Ya en qd mm des films positifs euh.. Des Parents Pas Comme Les Autres, Pourquoi Pas Moi?, Amour de Femme (pas trop mon gouts) et aussi c'est un film d'ado et souvent l'adolescence c'est pas très happy ending! mais bon... a chacun ses gouts ^_^
"You've been staring at my goldfish all afternoon" Domino
I have just seen this film
I have just seen this film and it is beautiful in a totally bittersweet way, I had a tight little pain in my chest all through it wishing for Marie to get what she wanted. Its not an upbeat film but I didn't feel traumatised just oddly nostalgic. I agree with Ediana about Florianne, she can't just be read as a straight. She is a fascinating character though because, as Marie finds, you just never know where you are with her. I think we've all been there...
I can't really see why the title was changed rather than just translated though, the Birth of Octopuses is a brilliant title. To me it suggests the arrival of something excitingly exotic and yet scarily unfamiliar, just one of the many things you can feel about your sexuality while you are still questioning. Water Lillies as a title is just to cutesy and this film is not that.
I tried hard not to just fall for Florianne (I thought sweet, lollopy, quirky Anne was really engaging too) but this film is so well made you just become Marie. Its not just that Florianne is stunning, its her swagger. Makes John Wayne look like a milkmaid....
An ok film
Beautifully Shot
The first time I saw this film I was so taken in by the way it looked that possibly some of the subtleties passed me by. I was confused as to whether Marie really did fancy Floriane given that she had the guts to follow her around everywhere quite overtly, but never really responded to certain advances. Of course later it was stated more explicity. And I also thought Florian was using her, then changed my mind, and then... it was sort of left ambiguous.
Which made me go back and watch it a second time, the sign of a great film. And that whole synchronised swimming metaphor as shown in one scene, smiling on the surface while hard at work underneath, beautiful.
Showing in the UK? Hmm. I
Some Spoilers
Lemona, the symbolism of the synchronized swimming reaches it climax at the end. Two girls now float, their legs no longer kicking frenetically to find forced synchronization with each other. They are calm in who they are and what they've learned about themselves. The third girl, Florianne, cannot be a part of this for she must still present an facade.
The kiss scene is brilliance for it tells who the true strong one is between Florianne and Marie. Florianne is back against the wall and shows the coldness she has through out with men and women (except for fleeting glimpses with Marie). She calls Marie over as in control of her (as she controls others). Marie puts her hand on her and they kiss. Florianne's facade of detachment begins to break. She becomes engulfed by Marie, kissing her more and more passionately. Marie all of a sudden is the one in control as Florianne breathes heavily. Marie stops the kiss and Florianne breathes in hard and overwhelmed - excited by kissing this girl. Then Florianne regains her composure. She calms her breathing. The back of her head goes to the wall. This moment of vulnerability, of true desire can't be. She must be the synchronized swimmer (in unison with societal demands for pretty girls while she kicks frantically under the surface). She rejects not just Marie but sadly herself.
Marie and Anne embrace themselves. They float. They don't kick relentlessly. They exist truthfully. Florianne is likely to be the girl, some day married with three kids, who stares at her female friends when they are turned around and then looks away when they turn back. And when finally she is no longer some great classical representation of beauty she will maybe allow that true being out (a classic femme coming out in her late 30's story?). Marie will never have to worry about living a lie.
Very interesting...
Your in depth character study and application of metaphor is just phenomenal. I'm truly blown away by your grasp of the film's use of symbolism.
Let me give another interpretation of Floriane. I don't think we should dismiss her as a latent lesbian denying her sexuality because she "feels obligated to play the promiscuous straight girl." Her reputation brings her no joy or pleasure at all. The other girls scorn her and it invites unwanted male attention.
There's a scene where Floriane is in the locker room eating a banana. Another girl tells her the reason she handles the fruit so well is because she's had experiences with the real thing. Rather than play along, she reacts with contempt and taunts the girl for her inappropriate comment. This would not be the reaction of a girl who is trying to strengthen the facade.
There's this innate coldness and loneliness to Floriane. She's very much in the mode of Dicken's Estella Havisham: an inexplicable wintery-ness about the both of them. They've acknowledged it, but there's no attempt to change.
Floriane, like Estella, is young and beautiful. Both are the subject of amorous as well as whimsical infatuations - but they are tragic in their inability to reciprocate. Ironically, while Marie is seen as the shy loner, she's actually more connected to others than Floriane. Marie has Anne and she is able to reach out to expand her social circle. Conversely, Floriane is part of the "in-crowd" yet is emotionally detached from others. She's invited to every party; has attention of the boys, her teammates (who gossip and scorn her), coaches, and even the bus driver. She cares for none of their attention and often walks away by herself (at parties and in the locker room).
Floriane seems to belong to no one and nowhere. We see this symbolism in the last scene. While Marie is literally connected to Anne in the pool, Floriane - after rejecting both Francois and Marie - is dancing provocatively by herself; in the background, boys and girls enjoy themselves and each other.
It is this Garbo-like aloofness that makes Floriane a tragic character: she can go to the bank, but is unable to complete the transaction -- with boys or girls.
BAD MOVIE :(
SORRY GIRLS!...
QUIZAS ESPERABA MAS DE LA PELICULA! :(
Definitly going to watch this.
I use to be in synchronized swimming. I spent a rediculous amount of time in the pool locker room, sexual tension between teamates- something I can picture developping.
I think the gay-teen-romance-developping-on-sports team is a little bit of a cliche scenerio (though I cliche scenerio I enjoy).
The sport I am in now, judo, also has a french angsty gay teen flick based around it, though its movie is from a male perspective.
I should watch both these movies on the same night, it will leave me wondering why my years of sports participation have not lead to and steamy encounters.
hmm..
many various opinions about this film! well, I guess I'll just have to wait for the day to watch this film!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------Girls. Girls. Girls.
wow!
this movie looks really complex yet really relatable.. want to watch!! but i doubt i will anytime soon.. =(
--------------------------------------------------------------
GOD made men then He had a better idea girls.I agree with Ediana. Most
Thanks for the review which
This movie expresses the hesitations which we all felt at one time or another.
Very good stars: Marie who is sureof her preference but afraid of rejection, Floriane whodoes not want to admit herattraction to Marie.
(I saw only extracts and I'm waiting for the hole movie, where to download?)
I'll just add
I'll just add that the movie had a quite unexpected - and I say, well-deserved- success in France, and it's a very nice surprise it's coming out so soon in anglo-saxon countries! (thanks to La Vie en Rose for opening the way, I guess)
Plus, apart from the subtle characterization , I was really blown away by the quality of the cut , the play on colors and angles, the whole symbolic woven into the movie (water, for example, from the very beginning to the final scene) - keeping in mind it's Sciamma's first movie, so I'm looking forward to what she'll direct next!
I love it
yes is a litle bit sad, but is a grate story. and marie was wonderfull. I really get to feel what was happening to her.
I'm from Mexico, so it's not in the movie theaters yet. i have to download it, but it was worthy
well I agree with
so so sad
poor girl!
I remember when was 13!
my first damn love! 10 years of waste time!
i loved this movie, it
i loved this movie, it reminded me of fucking amal in some areas, which a less happier ending however.
apparently all the characters were 15 when the movie was shot which i find incredible as they all gave such amazing performances
reminded me of being 15 :)
Great Reviews, Great Movie!
I loved this movie, and enjoyed everybody's reviews - Everyone seemed to see slightly different things in it - I think partially because we all relate to parts of it that are similar to our own experiences - I've seen it 6 times, and something slightly different each time.
I really appreciate the use of actors who are truly 15 or so - I think it brings the appropriate authenticity of emotion to the characters, and the casting was flawless, IMHO! Sadly, most American mainstream films would have used actors in their 20's, and I don't think I would have felt the same reality.
The use of 'The New Girl', water-ballet, the music, and the environs of the Paris suburb were also well done - I loved the realistic hesitency of the characters, the use of positioning, the overall feeling - I can't help but think that the movie was at least partially auto-biographical - it's just so...personal.
And finally, I think it was great NOT to have a 'Happy Ending' - It's about Real Life, and I'm sure we all know that these young ladies have many more life-lessons to learn. I will be looking forward to more from everyone involved in this film.
I do worry most about Florianne - To be the Captain, the 'In Girl', most popular, and most 'Traditionally Beautiful', she also seems the most unhappy - and I actually do care how these 3 girls end up - Now THAT'S Powerful! ;-)
R2 UK DVD in July
DVD Review
DVD Times just posted a review of this.
DVDRAMA has reviewed the French release, where you can find more screenshots of the scenes & DVD menu.
WL
forget about the movie not
forget about the movie not having had *a happy ending*
there has been *no ending* what-so-ever
the end if pretty much open
as is the future
overally, I feel that the film could have offered a little bit more substance, but as a novice attempt of the filmmaker, the outcome and the concluding *aftertaste* of the motion picture is overally positive
the open ending lends the film a more interesting zing
_____________________________
Dilettante's Hangout
where can I
disturbing but yet interesting
Ahh, Florianne... so many ways to read her
This movie hurt so good to watch. I mean I was Marie, stupidly and willingly Marie. Completely in love with someone who only kept me around as little more than a pet. And this girl was out as was I, there was no illusions in my love for her and yet she knew how to both keep a cold distance that spurned me and reel me back in when I got to far away with some sort of gesture that melted my heart and kept me addicted to her for far too long. Forget the gay girl falling for straight girl issue, this movie understands something far deeper than that with the very souls of these girls.
I disagree about Florianne simply being a closeted girl unable to come out because of her image. I think if she knew how to be happy she would have gladly embraced it. I don't know if I really ever decided if Florianne was straight or gay, because to be honest I think Floriane herself is too jaded to really know. Florianne's addiction to Marie (and she was as enamored of the girl and the girl was with her) is so much motivated by her ego. Sorry, Flori had a big ego. She was also much numbed by being sexualized so young and I don't really think she cared much if she had sex (with a man or woman). And what she did do to "prepare herself" for her boyfriend should have been the telling moment with Marie and it wasn't, she was still to cold and broken, even in the solitude of that moment with Marie, to let go a feel anything. I think the difference between how she was with Marie and how she was with the "boys" is easy to sort out. The men in her life are pretty blatent in coming on to her and the women (or girls I should say) have mostly rejected her. She was not the popular "it" girl, she was a very clearly spurned-by-the-girls "it" girl. Then here comes Marie, the girl that not only likes her, but puts her on a pedastal. That's different. I don't think Florianne really knew what to do with that. With the boys the game was simple, let them in so far and then push them away to keep the power. Marie wasn't going to go but so far without prompting, so she prompted her enough to keep her around for her own means.
I don't think she has the ability to really sort out between people who just want her body and someone who wants to be there for her and truly cares about her. She has NO friends, not a one. Forget romantic love, even with Marie she doesn't know how to be a friend really because everything turns into a manipulation. For all her physical maturity, her heart was stunted and hardened by being too young and overly sexualized for her age. The only thing I can say for sure is in the end she liked the fact that Marie liked her and that Marie liking her was a tool at her disposal. In her mind if it's about her body, it's always about her body, it can never be deeper. She's too empty of emotion to really understand it. Which is why I can't say she really knows anything about her sexuality or can't really agree she was in anyway lesbian or bi-curious or anything at all.
And the ending is not a sad one despite this being an angst-ridden peice, in the end the girls both come into there own and realize the power of their friendship is stronger than their fleeting attractions to whoever. I love how unshocked Anne was about Marie's "object of affection" obviously being another girl. I love the romantic "happy", but there are other happy endings and having the girls, in the end, find the power of there friendship was more affirming than most teen-angst films. I mean has anyone seen the german film "Sonja"... talk about a heartwrenching, lonely, and really sad ending.
I loved this movie 100%. By
I loved this movie 100%. By now I must have seen it at least 6 or 7 times (since I have it recorded). It is impeccably shot, the music really adds to the atmosphere. The movie is a jewel in story telling as it is technically really really good.
Two things. In one of the first "syncswim" scenes you'll notice how Marie's face lights up with excitement when she spots Floriane. That should tell you something. Second thing; the beauty of cinema is symmetrics. 3 girls, 1 straight, 1 gay and 1 who just doesn't know.
Just wanted to add that in the end all the girls had gotten what they desired the most. All of them appeared to be very strong willed. A sweetsour ending but absolutely not sad.
I really love movies where the text is kept to a minimum and the images tell the story.
Now, if someone could explain to me why the sheets were still white after Floriane was deflowered by Marie I would be most thankfull. I can't stand cinematographic loose ends.
So -- too -- familiar
Floriane: complicated, complex and contradictory
I just saw this film last night & it blew me away. I truly felt Marie's pain; I think we all know what it's like to be painfully drawn and attracted to the "beautiful straight girl." The pinnacle character in the movie, however, is Floriane, because her character influences the relationships between all of the other characters: Marie disses Anne to spend more time with Floriane, and Anne becomes increasingly jealous of this relationship. The object of Anne's desire, Francois, wants nothing to do with her until repeated sexual rejection from Floriane drives him to Anne's house horny and looking for an easy lay.
It's often hard to tell if Floriane truly cares for her new friend Marie. It's clear that she uses her in many situations. First, she uses Marie to get out of the house so she can meet with Francois, then at the club she uses the desire many men have of seeing two women together to attract an older boy. This scene was particularly painful to watch as Marie's desires to finally kiss Floriane were snuffed as she clearly used her as a pawn to arouse the men around her. Once a male took the bait and came to dance with Floriane, she brushed off Marie, who stood motionless on the dance floor, watching this man grope "her" girl. Also, when Floriane asks Marie to take her virginity before Francois arrived later that day. However, although it sounded romantic when Floriane first asked Marie to take her virginity (she gently took her hand, looked into her eyes and was clearly nervous to suggest this), the actual act was purely heartbreaking and somewhat clinical, not romantic at all. Floriane lies there as Marie fingers her. Marie clearly wants more and bit by bit, lowers down on the bed in an effort to kiss Floriane--this means more to her than it does to Floriane and it's obvious. Floriane's goal was not to "sleep with" Marie because she cared for her, her goal was to have Marie break her hymen so Francois would know that she was not a virgin.
The kiss at the end of the film was so painful to watch. The kiss itself was very hot, and more than I expected; however, it was Floriane who let down her defenses and let Marie dominate her in a way. Marie, on the other hand, didn't show the signs of love requited that I expected while finally kissing the object of her desire. Although she showed passion, I guess I expected more unbridled lust at first--then, I realized that that wouldn't be in character for her. This was the only moment in the film where Floriane completely let down her guard with Marie, or did not use her for the sake of a man. Or, perhaps she did; she was clearly aroused after she kissed Marie, and dismissed Marie to perhaps share her arousal with the cute boy at the party.
A very powerful, beautifully shot film with exceptional acting and a true star in Floriane, Adele Haenel.
*I need buddies!*