An Impudent Girl

Charlotte is thirteen. Her father is a worker, her brother is at home and there is no mother. It is the summer holiday; hot, dull and with nothing to do. Charlotte puts herself wrong everywhere; she does not know how to speak, behaves rudely and regrets it afterwards. One day there is a concert in the town. On the stage is a girl her own age: Clara Bauman is a pianist and on tour. Charlotte sees her and seizes on an idea. She will become Clara's friend and go away with her. She tries to carry it out without consulting anyone. Claude Miller directs. Charlotte Gainsbourg plays Charlotte; Bernadette Lafont and Jean-Claude Brialy are in the cast. It is a French production. Charlotte Gainsbourg won the César for most promising actress for the part. The narrative takes a cue from a novel by Carson McCullers; the adaptation is free and the events moved to France. The matter it treats is belonging nowhere; Charlotte cannot hold a place in any group and the reason is not explained. The neighbour played by Bernadette Lafont is the emotional axis and the only person who has patience with her. The film does not sweeten adolescence; the character is often in the wrong and the narrative does not defend her. Its ending gives no resolution and the holiday ends. Its limit is plot; the narrative is thin and there is no dramatic peak. Who it is for: viewers who like French drama about the young and films of character. Who it is not for: there is little event, the character tiring, and the ending left open.