Girl (2002)

good back-story, and good acting

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

This movie was a pleasant surprise for me. Not only did it have a well written story, the acting was amazing as well, specially Charlotte Vanden Eynde. I think she should have won the Joseph Plateau Award, because her performance was much more superior than Els Dottermans' performance.Something more about the story now, because this might be the main reason why I liked this movie so much. I saw a similar situation in my family and I thought this movie told a very realistic and touching story. What we see is a young girl with a desperate hunger for independence and a mother who's afraid of losing her daughter. This was the aspect I loved the most about "Meisje". Muriel wanted to stand on her own feet, she wanted to be no longer independent from everyone, she wanted to make a new start. And when you're dreaming of this new start, you think everything will work out easily and your life will be great in no time... but the problem is that it's never as easy as it seems. Starting all over again is tough and you do need people around you who you can trust and who you can count on. Everyone needs someone who takes care of them.It's exactly this aspect that I was touched by the most. "Meisje" is a sensitive and great Belgian movie which tells a story of growing up, closing chapters and starting new ones. It's a wonderful movie and Charlotte Vanden Eynde is definitely the star of the show.8,5/10

*SPOILERS*(assuming that there is something to be spoiled). Now, this is one of this kind of movies that when you go through it leaves you with this uncomfortable feeling of "I really don't know enough about cinema (or about anything else)to be able to judge it". Much better, because I probably would be unable to handle a judgement anyway...Anyway, what I mean is that this is exactly what people understands when they refer to each other with sentences of the like: "you gotta go watch this film because it's such a piece of independent cinema". I'm doubtful about what the hell independent cinema is, but sure this ressembles the rumours I heard about it. If a good movie has to be entertaining, then this is certainly the nightmare of any viewer. If it is to make you think, then it's probably brilliant. In a very freudian fashion this movie basically deals with the points of view in life of three woman (as if one wasn't enough...), and their discoveries in life throughout the film (none). It is all very delicate (which I am grateful for, because it contains a few uncanny and disgraceful sex scenes) but also very bitter; You constantly feel sorry for the characters, which is annoying, because at some point (if you are a woman, I guess) you might be identified with any of them. I can tell you it is not nice to feel some ressemblance with them when at the same time you are willing to scream something like "god's sake, girl, get a life and stop acting like an asshole". I also think the director has exagerated the screenplay (it's uncomfortably unbelievable sometimes, or at least it is to be a "realistic" movie), but she has anyway picked the right actresses. And I am really grateful for the hidden sense of humor that emerges randomly even in the scenes of more psicological pathetism, it basically helps to don't wish to crash your head against a glass at the end of the session. But, what is it with the so closed shots? We were almost eating Muriel...did I forget to say that the main character's name was Muriel? A pretty name, and as it all talks of abscence and memory it is probably adequate, it reminded me to Bresson and his kind of movies, and to the name of one of them of course. Yeah, it is all like a hit of new wave, but, well, with technicolor and dolby digital spiced with dutch sentences.Did I say I like it...?It is only against the characters I'm mad at, not against the film itself...

This movie is another Must-see. Kind of like Fucking Amal, here also a girl (20) wants to discover the world. She leaves here village to go to the big city, but gets involved in some disappointing events. Her tries to discover love and sex are displayed very delicately, and the actress is convincing in her reservedness. She takes things as they are, not commenting but clearly showing her aversion against how things go in Brussels. Maybe some superfluous sexually tinted scenes, but not disturbing the delicate atmosphere. In other words, if you have the chance to see it, GO!! Don't expect much action, but the psychological portrait is brilliant.

"Meisje" ( dutch for girl ) is the tale of 3 women at crossroads in their life. Muriel, a lost girl, breaks away from her home, her steady boyfriend and the socially crippling qualities of her home town, to gain and enjoy her independence in Brussels. She moves in with the uninhibited and lively Laura, a woman with a chaotic lifestyle and the growing desire of motherhood. Martha, Muriel's mother, follows her progress from afar, and finds herself breaking away from her routine and rediscovering a long forgotten childhood dream. Their lives cross over until they all meet up during a turbulent night. "Meisje" is a movie about the incredible power that drives women.this isn't really a comment, just a synopsis for people looking for info about the movie