An Impudent Girl (1985)

Such a frustrating disappointment

Overrated and overhyped

Absolutely Fantastic

A Major Disappointment

If there's something European film-makers excel at, it's making good, honest movies about being young. In comparison, American efforts in this genre are clumsy, artificial, sanitized, heavy-handed, overly safe and moralizingly preachy to a nauseating degree. In short, American films about youth rush to hit the viewer over the head with a hollow message and throw authenticity, frankness, the life of the soul, and the life of the body into the dumpster. It's as if the characters were intended merely as mouthpieces for ideas or agendas to placate various pressure groups."L'effrontee," however, portrays a vivid sense of place alive with real, breathing people. Raoul Billery is excellent as the widower father, a plain, strong tool-maker; but it is the remarkable Charlotte Gainsbourg who carries the film. She is fabulous as the 13-14 year old girl starting her journey to womanhood without her mother. She articulates the awkwardness, beauty and petulance of this age perfectly, as well as the first self-conscious inklings of her own emerging sex appeal. The strength here is that nothing of real life is artificially filtered out: The movie allows the girl to have the brain, the body, and the emotions to live fully and includes a poignant attraction to a beautiful piano prodigy and the dubious attentions of a significantly older (socially inept?) male. Charlotte Gainsbourg had me miffed at her character and cheering for her at the same time. My heart really went out to her. And man, does she have a trying summer! The only negative in "L'effrontee" is an irritating song that keeps cropping up - sounds like a French attempt to imitate Abba.The film-makers did an excellent job of capturing the look and feel of a sweltering summer. After watching this film, I'd like to see more films made by Claude Miller. And judging from this superlative early performance, I'm eager to see many other films starring Charlotte Gainsbourg.Once you see this movie, you'll cringe when you try to go back to the shallow phoniness of John Hughes, Molly Ringwald or Matthew Broderick. Miss Gainsbourg and "L'effrontee" are the real thing - the cream of the crop.

This film was my cult film when I was a teenager (I must have seen it 10 times). Now I'm older (!) and I saw it again recently. I was slightly disappointed because it was not as good as in my souvenirs but still, I would recommend it and say it's a great film. If you want to see another side of France than what you usually get to see, this film is interesting. I just read Carson Mc Culler's "The Member of the Wedding" and was surprised to see how many common points there were with "L'effrontée". Does anyone know if the film was inspired by it? Common points: - The main character is a teenage girl, she's bored and a bit lonely; it's the summer and she watches other people having fun. She hangs out with a little neighbor (in the film) or her cousin (in the book), both younger than her. - She has no mother. She is raised by her father and by a nanny/helper. - At one point, she watches older teenagers having fun in a dancing club and feels a bit jealous, though she won't admit it. - To feel "grown-up", she uses perfume. - At one point, she follows an older guy into a hotel and when she understands that he wants to sleep with her, she hits him on the head with a glass globe (in the film) or a glass pitcher (in the book), escapes,and then asks her dad: "If you hit someone on the head with something very heavy, made of glass, do you think it could kill him?" At some another point, she says "the world is very sudden" in the book and in French, in the film, she says "le monde est brusque" (same meaning; that was also the word used in the French translation of the novel). That's too much to be a coincidence, isn't it? - And finally, both characters feel that they are "the member to no club" and that they are different because they don't feel "connected" to anyone...

Even though this film was released in 1985, I've recently watched it, and it is extraordinarily delightful! This is one of the most splendid French films I have ever seen! Claude Miller captivates his audience with a remarkable cast featuring Charlotte Gainsbourg, Jean-Philipe 'Ecoffey, Julie Glenn, Simon de la Brosse, etc. This film is filled with a lot of coming of age angst from its main characters. It's comedic moments with the constant outbursts from Charlotte are incredibly cute but also endearing. I've never encountered quite a warm and personable film as L' Effrontee before.In addition, L' Ecffrontee also boasts a fun theme song reminiscent of ABBA, which I desperately want to download!

Most of the times the smallest things in life are the greatest and in cinema that's not any different. It's been a long long time since I saw such a supertalent as Charlotte Gainsbourg (yeah, daughter of...) and with justified reasons this movie was be a sort of springboard for Charlotte's further career. Charlotte plays the role of a teenager whose life is totally overruled by boredom both by the persons she's surrounded with (her only friend is a sick ten year old girl Lulu) and the village she lives in. Nothing ever happens and the usual parties at the local disco cant convince Charlotte in no way...all she wanna do is escape if only she could. But then it happens when a girl of her age enters the village to give a concert (the girl is a pianoplayer who is worldwide respected). Charlotte tries everything to become the pianist best friend with only one purpose : to escape from the dull world she is living in... As said the whole film has one focal point : Charlotte Gainsbourg and it is perhaps the best teenermovie ever made and it makes you forget the many stupid things that were sended by us by the likes of Matthew Broderick or any other John Hughes-icons. Superb movie!