Film Review
This debut feature from 27-year-old filmmaker Céline Sciamma won
widespread acclaim when it premiered at the Cannes film festival in
2007 - hard to see why when all that the film offers is a pretty
conventional coming of age drama of the kind that French cinema has
been churning out over the past three decades. Whilst the film
has little new to say on the subject of adolescent sexual awakening, it
is well-written and convincingly played by the three principal
actresses, who, judging by their performances here, look destined for
successful film careers. Sciamma's understated direction achieves
a delicate sensitivity but also brings a feeling of vacuity that
prevents it from being entirely satisfying.
The film's overt portrayal of nascent sexual awareness amongst a group
of teenage girls is unsettling, particularly for male spectators. The three
protagonists seem to think that sex is either a punishment or a tool to
be used to harm and control others, and this suggests a degree of cynicism
that is perhaps more informed by soap-style cliché than real-life
experience. The limp English language title
Water Lilies is misleading, as it
implies an innocence which the three principal characters clearly
lack. The original French title
Naissance
des pieuvres is more fitting, pieuvre being an octopus, an
apt metaphor for the multi-faceted (or should that be multi-tentacled?)
phenomenon that is female sexuality.
© James Travers 2009
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
One summer will forever change the lives of three 15-year-old
girls. Whilst watching a synchronised swimming event, Marie
becomes obsessed with one of the swimmers, Floriane. In spite of
the fact that Floriane has the reputation of being the school slut,
Marie cannot help being drawn to her. The object of her desire is
not unresponsive to these attentions, because she has begun to realise
that girls interest her more than boys. Marie's best friend Anne
resents the hold that Floriane has over Marie, particularly as she, an
overgrown and unattractive adolescent, is unable to attract someone in
the same way...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.