Real Young Girl DVD

A Real Young Girl
Directed by Catherine Breillat in 1975 but withheld from release for 25 years because Breillat's producer went bankrupt, Une Vraie Jeune Fille marked the director's feature debut. Like Breillat's controversial Romance (1999), Fille is concerned with the expression of female desire, and it takes a characteristically audacious approach to its subject. Striking close-ups of male and female genitalia, various bodily fluids, and graphic sexual fantasies make up a significant portion of the film, which charts the sexual awakening of the teenaged Alice (Charlotte Alexandra), who is vacationing with her parents in the country. Bored and restless, Alice spends much of her time lusting after Jim (Hiram Keller), a local sawmill worker. When not lusting after him, Alice fills the hours with such pursuits as writing her name on a mirror with vaginal secretions and wandering the fields with her underwear around her ankles. And, in true teenaged tradition, she spends a lot of time writing in her diary. Une Vraie Jeune Fille was adapted by Breillat from her third novel, 1974's Le soupirail, which she was commissioned to adapt for the screen by noted producer Andre Genoves. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

Cast Charlotte Alexandra as Alice Hiram Keller as Jim Rita Meiden as The Mother Bruno Balp as The Father Shirley Stoler as Grocer

Crew Catherine Breillat - Art Director Catherine Breillat - Director Annie Charrier - Editor Mort Shuman - Composer (Music Score) Pierre Fattori - Cinematographer André Genovès - Producer Pierre-Richard Muller - Producer Bernard Mangiere - Sound/Sound Designer Catherine Breillat - Screenwriter

A Real Young Girl
Like some of Catherine Breillat's other efforts, this film opts for near-shock recognition instead of heartfelt examination of the subject of budding female sexuality, yet offers so many fascinating takes on it that one can't help but find the film original and probing. The strong undercurrent of human comedy lends the feature some variety, instead of being a straight-faced, earnest look at raging hormones, and despite the director's sometimes too-obvious visual parallels and metaphors, the film feels slightly ahead of its time. Charlotte Alexandra gives a bravely unself-conscious performance in the lead role (quite remarkable, considering the compromising positions the director puts her in), conveying both a schoolgirl's innocence and an unflinchingly adult sensuality. The movie, which took 25 years to receive a U.S. showing, is still very graphic in its potent sexual imagery and casual nudity, but time may have made the movie more palatable to modern audiences, especially since the sexual climate has changed since its original 1975 release and since Breillat's other work since has highlighted her strong interest in the sociological effect of male and female sexuality. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide
 

(no awards)

General Specifications: Language Options: French Subtitle Options: English Sound Processing: Additional Features: Interactive menus Scene access Filmographies Optional subtitles Weblinks DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1: Theatre Wide-Screen MPAA Rating: NR DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 93 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- 1. Coming Home [5:06] 2. Breakfast [4:28] 3. Hot Summer [4:59] 4. Oppression & Liberation [4:39] 5. School Time [5:33] 6. Diversions [4:56] 7. Alice & Mother [3:33] 8. Trip to the Sawmill [5:50] 9. Daydreams & Reality [5:04] 10. Watching [4:49] 11. Lonely Outings [6:43] 12. Sticky Situations [6:24] 13. The Beach [6:55] 14. Rendezvous [6:36] 15. Confrontations [6:33] 16. The Cornfield [7:09]