Sandrine Bonnaire became a new star of a French movie with a role of a promiscuous 15-year-old Suzanne in love with Luc. She prefers not to sleep with him but have short one-night-stand affairs. In her family only the father has an understanding for her but he leaves with the mistress and the family life is filed with violence. She seeks escape in marriage but soon leaves a husband and runs off to the US.
Pialat attributes a special value to this story about juvenile problems, about a world ruled by sadness with rare days of happiness, by love and warmth he shows for his characters (and at the same time) by modernistic techniques, by ellipsis he uses to focus on the important things – showing often long sequences where he is mostly concerned with the interior life of his characters, forming authentic and profound picture of Suzanne’s existential emptiness, her thrills and excitements and rejections in the desperate search for the pleasure as a substitute for happiness.
Most critics consider this movie a masterpiece of French cinematography, while the director is less famous in Croatia. Those more informed will be familiar more with his movie (shown on our TV) Sous le soleil de Satan (1987) made in the bressonian tradition based on the Bresson’s novel with the same title, that was rewarded a Palm d’Or at Cannes, accompanied by great disapproval of critics and the audience. (Tomislav Kurelec)