Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

Roman Sampson One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Tobias Burrows It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

madcardinal If there's something European film-makers excel at, it's making good, honest movies about being young. In comparison, American efforts in this genre are clumsy, artificial, sanitized, heavy-handed, overly safe and moralizingly preachy to a nauseating degree. In short, American films about youth rush to hit the viewer over the head with a hollow message and throw authenticity, frankness, the life of the soul, and the life of the body into the dumpster. It's as if the characters were intended merely as mouthpieces for ideas or agendas to placate various pressure groups."L'effrontee," however, portrays a vivid sense of place alive with real, breathing people. Raoul Billery is excellent as the widower father, a plain, strong tool-maker; but it is the remarkable Charlotte Gainsbourg who carries the film. She is fabulous as the 13-14 year old girl starting her journey to womanhood without her mother. She articulates the awkwardness, beauty and petulance of this age perfectly, as well as the first self-conscious inklings of her own emerging sex appeal. The strength here is that nothing of real life is artificially filtered out: The movie allows the girl to have the brain, the body, and the emotions to live fully and includes a poignant attraction to a beautiful piano prodigy and the dubious attentions of a significantly older (socially inept?) male. Charlotte Gainsbourg had me miffed at her character and cheering for her at the same time. My heart really went out to her. And man, does she have a trying summer! The only negative in "L'effrontee" is an irritating song that keeps cropping up - sounds like a French attempt to imitate Abba.The film-makers did an excellent job of capturing the look and feel of a sweltering summer. After watching this film, I'd like to see more films made by Claude Miller. And judging from this superlative early performance, I'm eager to see many other films starring Charlotte Gainsbourg.Once you see this movie, you'll cringe when you try to go back to the shallow phoniness of John Hughes, Molly Ringwald or Matthew Broderick. Miss Gainsbourg and "L'effrontee" are the real thing - the cream of the crop.

emmy-muller This film was my cult film when I was a teenager (I must have seen it 10 times). Now I'm older (!) and I saw it again recently. I was slightly disappointed because it was not as good as in my souvenirs but still, I would recommend it and say it's a great film. If you want to see another side of France than what you usually get to see, this film is interesting. I just read Carson Mc Culler's "The Member of the Wedding" and was surprised to see how many common points there were with "L'effrontée". Does anyone know if the film was inspired by it? Common points: - The main character is a teenage girl, she's bored and a bit lonely; it's the summer and she watches other people having fun. She hangs out with a little neighbor (in the film) or her cousin (in the book), both younger than her. - She has no mother. She is raised by her father and by a nanny/helper. - At one point, she watches older teenagers having fun in a dancing club and feels a bit jealous, though she won't admit it. - To feel "grown-up", she uses perfume. - At one point, she follows an older guy into a hotel and when she understands that he wants to sleep with her, she hits him on the head with a glass globe (in the film) or a glass pitcher (in the book), escapes,and then asks her dad: "If you hit someone on the head with something very heavy, made of glass, do you think it could kill him?" At some another point, she says "the world is very sudden" in the book and in French, in the film, she says "le monde est brusque" (same meaning; that was also the word used in the French translation of the novel). That's too much to be a coincidence, isn't it? - And finally, both characters feel that they are "the member to no club" and that they are different because they don't feel "connected" to anyone...

befina Even though this film was released in 1985, I've recently watched it, and it is extraordinarily delightful! This is one of the most splendid French films I have ever seen! Claude Miller captivates his audience with a remarkable cast featuring Charlotte Gainsbourg, Jean-Philipe 'Ecoffey, Julie Glenn, Simon de la Brosse, etc. This film is filled with a lot of coming of age angst from its main characters. It's comedic moments with the constant outbursts from Charlotte are incredibly cute but also endearing. I've never encountered quite a warm and personable film as L' Effrontee before.In addition, L' Ecffrontee also boasts a fun theme song reminiscent of ABBA, which I desperately want to download!

richie42 ***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** Claude Miller's from the heart film, L'Effrontee is a masterpiece of French film making.SPOILERS AHEAD!!This is the simple story of Charlotte (played with effortless ease and considerable verve by Charlotte Gainsbourg), a girl of thirteen or fourteen who is unhappy with her lot. The school holidays are approaching and she is not going away for a month - not until August. She has nothing to do. She hates her peer group, so doesn't hang with them. She hates the fact that no one at home takes her seriously. Her only friend is Lulu (Julie Glenn), a younger girl with a weak disposition, constantly taking medication to keep her out of hospital, and constantly getting under Charlotte's feet.Charlotte becomes jealous of her brother, who *is* going away on holiday, and Lulu and the housemaid Leone (Bernadette Lafont) bear the brunt of this.There are, however, two new people in Charlotte's life.On one of the last days of school she sees a video of Clara Bauman (Clothilde Baudon), a child prodigy. On the video, Clara is playing Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto. Charlotte finds out that she and Clara are the same age, and that Clara is coming to town to play a concert.It is while watching the video that we see where Charlotte wants to be. We see her inherent understanding of the music and her love for it in the expression on her face. (It is also possible that the love and desire reflected on her face is for the girl.)As the holidays get under way, we see Charlotte out walking with Lulu. A car pulls up behind them and the driver asks if Charlotte knows the way to a place where the other occupant of the car can have her piano stool repaired. The other occupant of the car is none other than Clara Bauman.Charlotte does, indeed, know the way to the metal work factory and shows them the way. Once there, she hangs around and listens carefully to the conversation in an attempt to find out where Clara is staying. She also hears that Jean (Jean-Philippe Ecoffey), a temporary worker at the factory, will deliver the piano stool once it is fixed.Clara and her driver - her manager Sam (Jean-Claude Brialy) - thank Charlotte for showing them the way and depart. But Charlotte has formed her plan: she will hang around and get to know Jean so she can deliver the piano stool with him.In her own clumsy way, Charlotte succeeds in getting to know Jean, and does so seemingly unaware of the dangers of striking up relationships with men ten years her senior.When she gets home, all Charlotte can do is talk about her new pianist friend. This, of course gets on the nerves of Lulu, Leone, and her father - a man who always appears dog-tired.The following day, Charlotte meats up with Jean and they deliver the piano stool to the grand lakeside mansion where Clara is staying. Charlotte manages to get to stay behind once the delivery is made and also succeeds in getting herself invited to a party that night.Once again at home she continues spouting off about her pianist friend, now claiming that she will be joining her on the rest of her tour. In her happiness she sets off a firework in the kitchen, further annoying everyone.As the days to the concert go by, Charlotte becomes increasingly obsessed with Clara. She buys a new dress for the concert. Leone rubbishes the dress, saying it awful and unsuitable, and Charlotte has another of her tantrums. As a result of this she agrees to go to the cinema with Jean. After watching "The Exorcist" they go back to his hotel room. Jean, of course, tries it on with her. She escapes after bashing him over the head with a globe of the world.Meanwhile, because of Charlotte's obsession with Clara, Lulu has become very worried that Charlotte *actually will* leave with her after the concert, so, during the concert, sitting with Charlotte and Leone, Lulu throws a tantrum - right in the middle of the performance - and the trio have to leave the auditorium. Charlotte throws another tantrum and goes to wait backstage for Clara.Clara, however, finishes her performance on a musician's high and completely fails to notice Charlotte. She leaves without her. A distraught Charlotte is seen wandering around outside the concert hall by an overjoyed Lulu, but Lulu's emotions overcome her and she collapses.The final scene is at the hospital where Lulu is recouping. She is on a balcony holding hands with Charlotte, Charlotte finally having realized that what she has got is far better than what she wants.This film very deservedly won several awards:Prix Louis Delluc - Claude Miller;Cesar Awards, France - Best Supporting Acress - Bernadette Lafont;and, of course,Cesar Awards, France - Most Promising Actress - Charlotte Gainsbourg.Go rent it, if only to see where Hollywood so often goes wrong.