Well, my luck seems to be in at last! First, I get a phone call from Viagogo promising me a full refund for the show I missed last night (yay!), then I leave it late to go to the cinema tonight, dash for the bus, and make the bus stop not ten seconds before the bus does. Phew!
Yes, Google Maps seems to think that the fastest way to get to the Institut Francais from here is by bus. Ok, fine. Cheaper than the Tube, anyway, and it would be too far to walk. So, I gratefully hopped on the bus - the film was on quite late anyway, and the bus was almost empty. And with not much traffic, we were there in no time. Google Maps seemed to think I should stay on the bus to go around the corner - maybe there was a slightly shorter walk from there - but I didn't see the point, and got off when I saw I was close. Made my way to the Institut - that's where the Ciné Lumiere is, where the film was showing tonight, and I've been there lots of times - and saw by their clock that it was one minute to showing time. Result!
They were showing that Volkswagen ad with the dogs when I went in - I love that ad. And once the couple in front of me - who hadn't been there before, they had to ask at the desk where it was - figured out where they wanted to sit, I could sit too, and enjoy it. And so to the film. Jeune & Jolie (Young & Beautiful) is the story of a 17-year-old French girl who decides to take up prostitution as a part-time job. The young star, I must say, is the image of a young (and extremely skinny) Julia Roberts. And Charlotte Rampling shows up at the end! My word, how long is it since I saw her in anything?
Well, the star may have constantly reminded me of Julia Roberts, but Pretty Woman this ain't. The prostitution scenes take place near the beginning, and it wasn't long before two women in the audience left in disgust. I can just see the protests from the anti-prostitution brigade as well - because she just seems to drift into it, her motives are never properly explained - I got the impression that sex, once she tried it, bored her and she figured she might as well get paid to do it. The message is also driven home to us that teenage romance means nothing, and teenagers are always ready to move on to the next thing. The ennui of youth, eh?
I disagree with the reviewer that said it was exploitative. Yes, we get to see nude shots of her, and quite a lot in the beginning of the film - but then her family finds out and puts a stop to it, and that's the end of it. Well, for a while - but the film takes a different tack after that. At her friends' party, the implication is that everyone is having sex, and anything goes - so implying that it's hypocritical to stigmatise prostitution (what's the difference, except you get paid?) She might have stopped being a prostitute, but still has trouble sticking to a boyfriend - she just doesn't feel strongly enough about anyone. Nothing bad happens to her as a result of what she's been doing, despite the adults' warnings. And Charlotte Rampling's function, right at the end, is to assure her that, had she been brave enough in her youth, she'd have loved to have done the same thing herself.
Yes, the anti-prostitution brigade will hate this. But doubtless, being not in English, it'll slip under the radar, mostly. I'll say this, though - that reviewer was right in saying she's borderline anorexic. I mean yes, she's lovely - but see her in a state of undress, and well, I find neither pointy shoulderblades nor a visible ribcage sexy in the least. She's the skinniest among her peers, and I do wonder whether that's a symbol of the fact that, in a way, she's more mature than they are, more canny (in charging for what they give away for nothing), supposed to be superior in some sense. She stands apart, for that reason as much as others. Or is that level of skinniness just what passes for sexy in France? Yuck. The promotion of that as a measure of beauty disturbs me far more than any prostitution in this film.
Having said that, it was a minor niggle for me as I watched the film, which is very stylish, very watchable. And you know, with something rated this highly, that there is something out of the ordinary about it.
I'm thinking of taking tomorrow night off - I have to be up early the next morning to go to the Guildford office, where we have our departmental Christmas dinner, at Loch Fyne seafood restaurant in the town. And anything I might be interested in going to is just on too late. Well, I had to stay in last night, so it won't be a complete shock to the system!
No comments:
Post a Comment