Les filles ne savent pas nager

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Movie
Original title Les filles ne savent pas nager
Country of production France
original language French
Publishing year 2000
length 102 minutes
Rod
Director Anne-Sophie Birot
script Anne-Sophie Birot
Christophe Honoré
production Philippe Jacquier
camera Nathalie Durand
cut Pascale Chavance
occupation

Les filles ne savent pas nager (Eng .: the girls can't swim ) is a French teen drama by Anne-Sophie Birot from the year 2000.

action

15-year-old Gwen lives with her parents in a village on the French coast. The mother is a housewife, while the father works as a fisherman, but has to give up his job due to an engine failure on his boat. The family cannot afford a repair and the father increasingly believes in alcohol. His constant presence in the house also creates tension between him, his daughter and his wife. Gwen is on vacation from school and spends time with her first love, Frédo. They meet secretly, sleep together and stay away for the night. The father's control leads to conflicts, especially as Gwen's retreats are becoming less and less: the family's holiday home is rented out, the broken boat is sold and even the front yard of her apartment is suddenly inhabited by campers because the family needs money.

Gwen lacks another familiar pole of her vacation days: her best friend Lise cannot come to her like every summer. She cancels Gwen over the phone and stays in touch with her. The letters are still full of childlike vows of love, even if Gwen has long since outgrown her childhood. She misses Lise, with whom she even learned to swim. She is surprised that Lise cannot come to her because she is said to be taking a trip to the Alps with her father. Little does Gwen know that Lise's father actually died in an accident recently in London. He had been separated from the family for ten years and Lise's mother forbade her three daughters to speak of him. She no longer wants to mourn him as she has for the past ten years. Lise, on the other hand, is desperate because she never knew her father and still feels sadness that she cannot live out. Lise goes to the funeral and shortly thereafter celebrates her 15th birthday, which ends with the mother accusing her that all the daughters look like the father. Lise secretly drives to Gwen's home alone to spend her vacation with her.

At first Gwen is enthusiastic, but then learns, like the rest of the family, that Lise's father has died. She doesn't know how to act towards Lise. At the same time, she now considers her relationship with Frédo to be more important than her friendship with Lise, who has never had a relationship. Lise feels abandoned by Gwen and the friendship cools down. Lise becomes increasingly jealous. When Gwen and Frédo secretly sleep together in the room in which Lise is staying, she first tries to approach Gwen. As she pushes them back, Lise screams until Gwen's parents are in the doorway. When Frédo leaves, Lise says that Gwen had already slept with numerous boys in the village - she learned this when talking to other boys. Gwen breaks up with Lise and is beside himself when Frédo breaks up in front of her the next day because she lied to him too often. Lise wants to pack and is comforted by Gwen's father Alain. Both begin to kiss, but Alain rejects Lise. She persists, then gets angry and pushes Alain down the stairs. His neck is broken and he dies instantly. When Gwen and her mother come home, they find the dead Alain. Lise tells Gwen that they are both just alike and runs down the village street.

production

Les filles ne savent pas nager was filmed in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine and Penmarch ( Finistère ). It was the first feature film by director Anne-Sophie Birot. The film premiered on September 4, 2000 at the World Film Festival in Montréal and was shown in French cinemas on October 18, 2000. The film has not yet been released in Germany (as of October 2013).

criticism

The Guardian found that director Anne-Sophie Birot's directorial debut was conducting a cast that was strong and bright. The BBC called the film a "moving story of childhood love and desire".

Awards

At the International Du Cinema Au Feminin Festival, Pascal Elso was named Best Actor in 2000, while Isild Le Besco and Karen Alyx were named Best Actress. In 2001, Isild Le Besco won an Étoile d'Or for Best Young Actress.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Peter Bradshaw: Girls can't swim , theguardian.com
  2. ↑ Jamie Russell: Girls Can't Swim (Les Filles ne savent pas nager) (2003) . bbc.co.uk, April 14, 2003.