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Review

Recent European cinema has rediscovered the wealth of material that exists with the blossoming sexuality of young women. One only needs to think of the exploitative Fat Girl or the French-Canadian Set Me Free and you get the idea. This French film utilizes a neo-realist verite style while breaking every rule of the traditional narrative. Here we have two girls with an intense emotional relationship that goes unresolved - they don't even appear together till halfway through the movie. Highly emotional Gwen (Le Besco - destined for stardom - you read it here first) is a fifteen-year-old bikini clad sexpot who wants to sleep with as many of the local boys as possible. Her friend Lise is an ugly duckling who has recently lost the father she never really knew. When they finally get together, Lise begins to look upon Gwen's acts of rebellion with a confused awe. Her emotional responses may or may not be caused by lesbian infatuation with no outlet available. Cleverly, as the film progresses, the audience's empathy begins to shift away from Gwen until she almost becomes a figure of hatred, an empty vessel that doesn't require anything from us. This film will challenge everything you know about film making and narrative duality, and is bound to have you talking for a long time. (French with English subtitles)

Darren Chadwick