Le Nouveau Raz-de-Marée - A New Movement in French Cinema?
CW: Sexual Harassment
Shannon O’Riordan
---- Une Fille Facile ----
GENRE: Drama, Coming-of-age
FAVOURITE QUOTE: « Qu’est-ce qui nous rend libre dans la société où on vit ? »
FAVOURITE SCENE: The stunning opening scene, inspired by Eric Rohmer’s La Collectionneuse (1967)
FILMS IT MIGHT REMIND YOU OF: A raunchy, ABBA-less Mamma Mia
RATING: * * * * * * (4/6)
Opening Scene
Credit: Une Fille Facile. Directed by Rebecca Zlotowksi, performances by Mina Farid, Zahia Dehar, Benoît Magimel, Nuno Lopes. 2019. Netflix, https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81081603?source=35
Column VI
When I realised that this was my last article for this term, I knew I wanted to go out with a bang, leaving you with the best Francophone film on Netflix as a tribute to my appreciation for the collection of films that belong to the genre I have lovingly called, ‘Le Nouveau Raz-de-Marée’. And, after scrolling through my Watchlist for half-an-hour, I thought I had found ‘the one’; the film that could be the epitome of every point I am trying to prove to you. Yet, despite my best efforts, I’m afraid that what I have in store for you this week is most definitely not the best Francophone film on Netflix. In fact, it’s far from it. So just as a heads up, for this article at least, do not buy into the concept of leaving ‘the best till last’.
Instead, what I present to you is the 2019 Netflix Original, Une Fille Facile, directed by the somewhat disgraced French writer-director Rebecca Zlotowksi. Advertised as a sensual, coming-of-age drama, this film follows the story of sixteen-year-old Naïma (Mina Farid) as she spends her summer holiday with her older, more worldly-wise cousin Sofia (played by Zahia Dehar, whose earlier claim to fame is her involvement in a 2009 sex scandal with the French national football team). There is clearly love and affection between the two cousins, which is central to all the events in the film. After a night out on the town, the two girls are invited onto a boat by a Brazilian art dealer Andres (Nuno Lopes) and his friend Philippe (Benoît Magimel), and the rest of the film explores the quartet’s adventures as they experience a life of luxury. Une Fille Facile focuses on the impact that this summer experience has on the teenage Naïma, and her emotions and inner conflicts take centre stage in the narrative.
The Two Cousins, Sofia and Naïma
Credit: Une Fille Facile. Directed by Rebecca Zlotowksi, performances by Mina Farid, Zahia Dehar, Benoît Magimel, Nuno Lopes. 2019. Netflix, https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81081603?source=35
The film touches on many different and important social problems: from class divisions, to sexual freedom, and the treatment of women. None of these issues are explored in any particular depth, nor does the director try to impose a moral message on the viewer, although there is one scene that explicitly tackles judgement between women with regards to looks and sexuality, in which Sofia very much puts one of Andres’ wealthier friends in her place.
But for a film which could have a relatively positive message, there are two topics that I would like to discuss in light of certain recent events. The first is that there are a couple of scenes that are very hard to watch as a woman, especially after the heartbreaking murder of Sarah Everard. There is one scene in particular that includes some rather aggressive catcalling of the two protagonists, which definitely made me tear up and brought my mind straight onto current events. In short, if you are looking for a bit of light relief from the real world, I would probably give this film a miss for at least the near future. The mistreatment and harassment of women is by no means the central theme of the film, but at a time when we as women are all feeling a bit more vulnerable and sensitive to depictions of circumstances that are all too real for us, I feel a duty to give all my readers a fair warning that some scenes may be particularly upsetting at this time.
The Quartet
Credit: Une Fille Facile. Directed by Rebecca Zlotowksi, performances by Mina Farid, Zahia Dehar, Benoît Magimel, Nuno Lopes. 2019. Netflix, https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81081603?source=35
Secondly, Une Fille Facile, appears to set up a potential love story between Philippe (a man in his mid-to-late 20s, at the very least) and Naïma (a teenage girl who has just turned SIXTEEN!). There is something very predatory about the way in which Philippe interacts with Naïma - her very presence on a yacht full of adults is enough of a warning sign for me, but I digress - and at the end, Naïma even confesses her love for him. Although Philippe - quite rightly - turns her down, it doesn’t undo the overwhelming discomfort that I felt whilst watching an hour of an older man effectively flirting with a girl who is not even a legal adult, regardless of her level of “maturity”. The interactions between these two characters left a bad taste in my mouth and, despite the fact that this ‘issue’ is technically ‘resolved’ at the end of the film, it is definitely another uncomfortable element of the film.
Though I was not particularly enamoured with the content of the film, I must say that Une Fille Facile is probably the most stylistically consistent and impressive of all the films I have reviewed for this column. Set in the beautiful South of France, the scenery lends itself to stunning shots of turquoise waters, sun-kissed faces, and luxurious beaches. Tie all these amazing shots together with some very clever - arguably even ‘artistic’ (whatever that really means) - editing, and you’ve got yourself an impressive film structure. And, as the cherry on the top of this very aesthetically pleasing cake, the soundtrack is spot-on throughout. There is a clever mixture of diegetic and non-diegetic music; the genre of music changes with every shift in tone, and whatever they choose always seems to evoke the desired emotion. In fact, the only cinematic technique employed in this film that I don’t agree with is the use of a voiceover at seemingly random points throughout the film. It is by no means as bad as in films which employ the technique for one minute at the beginning, and another minute at the end in an attempt to resolve the story (often as a result of lazy screenwriting), but in my opinion it’s not far off. Nevertheless, this film has a very clear, beautiful overall ‘aesthetic’, which massively appeals to me as a (re)viewer.
Credit: Une Fille Facile. Directed by Rebecca Zlotowksi, performances by Mina Farid, Zahia Dehar, Benoît Magimel, Nuno Lopes. 2019. Netflix, https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81081603?source=35
Overall, I might go as far to say that Une Fille Facile puts style over substance; I did not see any particular character growth in Naïma, despite the fact that the film is set up like a cinematic bildungsroman. It felt like there was something missing throughout, though I can’t quite put my finger on what, and there were several moments throughout the film that, in the words of fellow reviewer Roger Moore, were quite simply “icky”. All that said, if you’re looking for something that is relatively low-stakes, generally easy viewing, or very aesthetically pleasing, I certainly wouldn’t advise against giving 90 minutes of your life to watch Une Fille Facile.