36 Fillette :: Rogerebert.Com :: Reviews 12/17/10 3:17 PM

36 Fillette :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews 12/17/10 3:17 PM

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Love and Other Drugs Made in Dagenham 36 Fillette Megamind Modus Operandi BY ROGER EBERT / February 10, 1989 Monsters Morning Glory Catherine Breillat's "36 Never Let Me Go Fillette" follows a few crucial Buy now » cast & credits The Next Three Days days in the life of Lili, a Night Catches Us 14-year-old French girl Lili: Delphine Zentout Nowhere Boy whose body is ripe and Maurice: Etienne Chicot The Nutcracker in 3D whose soul is troubled by Bertrand: Olivier Parniere an unhappy home life. One 127 Hours Boris Golovine: Jean-Pierre Leaud night during a miserable Outside the Law Anne-Marie: Berta Dominguez D. family vacation at a tacky Paranormal Activity 2 The Father: Jean-Francois Stevenin RED resort, she talks her older Georgia: Diane Bellego Buy now » brother into taking her to a Scrappers Secretariat disco and there she begins Circle Films Presents A Film Written Seven Days in Slow Motion a series of risky flirtations And Directed By Catherine Breillat, with older men. And Produced By Emmanuel The Social Network Schlumberger And Valerie Seydoux. Stone The first man she Photographed By Laurent Dailland. Tamara Drewe encounters fancies himself Edited By Yann Dedet. Music By The Tempest to be a playboy, but he is in Jean Minondo. In French With Tiny Furniture fact a middle-age salesman English Subtitles. Running Time: 92 Today's Special who is still locked into his Buy now » Minutes. Classified R. The Tourist adolescent dream of picking Tron: The Legacy up girls in his convertible. Printer-friendly » Unstoppable After he picks up Lili, he E-mail this to a friend » finds he is in for more than Vision: From the Life of Hildegard von Bingen he bargained for. She is not Waiting for Superman a victim but a tough little Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps cookie who tantalizes him Welcome to the Rileys all night long, until finally he gives up, protesting that at his age he White Material Buy now» simply lacks the stamina for an extended chase. When I first saw him Winnebago Man I was prepared to scorn him as an irresponsible adult taking You Again advantage of an inexperienced girl, but by this point in the evening I moreYou Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger could see the rueful humor in his situation. current releases » Drifting on through the dreary resort where she finds herself, Lili (Delphine Zentout) encounters a man who is said to be a famous on dvd French personality of some sort - and indeed he is played by a famous actor, Jean-Pierre Leaud, who long ago in Truffaut's "The 400 new on dvd Buy now» Blows" (1959) portrayed the same kind of angry, alienated adolescent who now confronts him. He listens to her intently, looks at her Trouble in Mind (12/14) quizzically and gives her some weary advice. No doubt his advice is Nothing In Common (12/7) correct, but she is too young to understand it and must make her own Absence of Malice (12/7) mistakes. Endless Summer (11/16)

The next day is another day of unhappiness with her parents, who more new on dvd » mostly seem to drink, sleep and fight. She is alienated and isolated, and she decides it is "miserable" to be a virgin, so she sets out to flirt coming on dvd Buy now» with danger, not quite knowing what she is looking for or if she really wants it. She dresses boldly and goes out to hitchhike into town and more coming on dvd » again crosses paths with the tired, alcoholic playboy (Etienne Chicot). He leads an exhausted night life in gloomy discos, and decides he great movies on dvd doesn't want to have anything to do with her because she is underage. But she taunts him with her flamboyant dress and voluptuous body, and then dances away when he begins to respond. more great movies on dvd »

Eventually they fall into some kind of tacit friendship, based on a mutual desperation they recognize in each other.

At first we are prepared to blame the man for taking advantage of a vulnerable teenager. But that is not the subject of this particular film, which Breillat says is somewhat autobiographical. "36 Fillette" (the title is a French bra size) is a film told from Lili's point of view, and the middle-age man is almost a prop; at this moment in her life, any man would have done, since she is not sure what she's looking for, anyway.

We have caught her at a moment when her unhappiness has coincided with her sudden discovery of her sexuality and the power she can have over men. With a boldness born of anger and naivete, heedless of danger, she sets out to manipulate this man. Her psychological motivations are hinted at in a scene where her father is uncaring, but this is a film of observation, not analysis.

The key scene in the film is a long, meticulously observed emotional fencing match in the man's hotel room, during which they both sense, perhaps, that despite the gulf between them they share the same loneliness and unhappiness with themselves. This is a great scene, and its whole delicate existence depends on the performance by Zentout, a 16-year-old in her acting debut. She gives a brave and convincing performance.

The movie is controversial because of the difference in age between the two lovers, and because of the girl's blatant, if naive, sexuality. But Breillat has made a film far more complex than it might seem. This film depicts the sort of situation one "should" deplore, but the film is so specifically about two particular people that it slips away from http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19890210...convention and just quietly goes its own way. 2 of 3 36 Fillette :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews 12/17/10 3:17 PM

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