The Party

Thirteen-year-old Vic starts at a well-established school in Paris. First loves, parties and a circle of friends on one side; her parents' failing marriage, an affair and a separation on the other. The person Vic trusts most is her great-grandmother. Claude Pinoteau directed. Sophie Marceau plays Vic in her first film. Vladimir Cosma wrote the music, and what people remember most is Reality, sung by Richard Sanderson. It was a large box office success across Europe, selling more than 4.3 million tickets in France alone. One reviewer called it disarmingly diverting. Its success produced La Boum 2 in 1982, with Marceau returning in the role. The film is now remembered as the starting point of one of French cinema's best-known actresses. Who it is for: viewers who like eighties teen films and the music of the period. Who it is not for: anyone measuring it against today. How the adults behave toward the teenagers, and some of the scenes, show their age.