Avril

... then why bother seeing it, I say. This is an often-risible, hardly believable story of a novice who takes two weeks off to find her twin brother and herself in the Camargue (lovely shots of the beaches). I did not believe this story for one minute, although the actors are appealing, especially the broad-faced Sophie Quinton and slim, athletic Clément Sibony, who plays her brother.

I suppose the French tradition of careful reconstruction of political, social or spiritual themes is now lost forever. I kept thinking wistfully of La Réligieuse, Thérèse, La Faute de l'Abbé Mouret, Le Journal d'un curé de campagne and any other film that crossed my mind as Avril unfolded before my disbelieving eyes. The last fifteen minutes were called absurd by some commenters, but I never found any solid ground in the picture. That Mother Superior was straight out of Bunuel.

A very offbeat exciting film debut for Gerald Hustache-Mathieu.With "Avril", his first full-length film, the fledgling movie-maker has opted for a story set in and out of a convent, with a young nun as its central character, which is going against the flow, particularly in the France of 2006,not a particularly religious country. Which also makes viewing this U.F.O. an intriguing and rewarding experience.

Hustache-Mathieu (what a name!) must first be congratulated on his miraculous soft touch. One of the themes being that of a young nun awakening to "secular" life, one could have feared some smutty details, which luckily never happens. For, although Avril gradually discovers her body and ends up bathing in the nude, vulgarity is never on the agenda. Likewise, although Pierre, a traveling hardware merchant, develops a crush on her and the two young men they meet and mix with are gay, nothing dirty is ever shown. The writer-director respects his characters and his empathy is communicative. We feel good with these three-dimensional characters and we would like them to exist in real life to prolong the pleasure of their company.

Also pleasant is the skilfully devised plot. The director has a knack for doling out surprises throughout the story and we never know in advance where he is leading us.At the beginning, "Avril" tells the tale of a novice about to take her vows, then it changes to Avril discovering her twin brother and his lover in the company of Pierre in a holiday atmosphere. The final chapter throws light on all the mysteries (Who is Avril's biological mother? Why wasn't Avril told before that she had a brother?) only to tip into violence and more mystery.

This stimulating narration is enhanced by topnotch acting: Sophie Quinton, impeccably going through all the stages of the evolution of her character from awkward naive nun to full-fledged woman, leads the cast. But all the others are wonderful as well, from Miou-Miou as a distressed sister to Geneviève Casile as the demented Mother Superior, from Nicolas Duvauchelle, adding delicacy to good looks, to Richaud Valls, both hilarious and engaging.

All in all an original first film by a gifted new French movie-maker, avoiding to fall into the traps too many of his colleagues eagerly fall into: arty self-absorption or prime time vulgarity.

Speaking of modernity ,the starting point of the movie takes us back to the old melodramas of the nineteenth century ;some French may remember "Les Deux Orphelines " by Adolphe D'Ennery (aka "Orphans of the storm" ).Of course the treatment is different since the two fraternal twins (they can't be identical can they?) meet in the first quarter .Such a story is hardly believable,as an user has already pointed out:how can a girl ,who was "carefully" taught,educated in a nunnery ,surrounded by holy women, adapt herself so easily to the "modern" world she discovers?I'm sure she was never told gays existed .Was she even told that she could marry instead of becoming a nun?That her brother can sleep with another man doesn't shock her at all : people are going to say it is the natural tolerance of the clueless girl;perhaps so.Clement Sibony (who was a good Daniel in "Les Thibault" miniseries ) gives a down-to-earth portrayal,which is quite fine,cause I feared that the scenes on the beach could lead the movie into Neo Nouvelle Vague territory Eric Rohmer style,but the quartet is nice and has something of the odd pairings of John Huston (as a "Heaven knows mister Allison " for twenty-somethings).

A question:WHEN does it takes place? The young man in love with Avril says he loves late fifties/early sixties music -Orbison,Presley,Holly- and he plays an Annette Funicello -who ,however,was rather unknown in France - song in his car.Later we see the boys teach Avril Christophe's big hit "Aline" (1965,but which was re-issued in the eighties with success );and twin brother uses a slot-in record player ,which is typically early eighties.Even for a French ,it's difficult to pinpoint the era.

Miou-Miou cast as a nun is something rather curious and is worth the price of admission.But Genevieve Casile 's part of the mother superior is too underwritten to be credible "She wanted you to be a saint" is not enough to explain her behavior.

Just returned from seeing this as part of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts' tremendous yearly French Film Festival. Again, I feel so lucky to live in Boston. This was , for me, one of those rare films that really got me. It imbued me with a feeling much like that that I experienced while seeing Kurosawa's 'Dersu Uzala.'The completely believable lead actress, a novice nun raised in a convent from birth, is so filled with the glow of selfless love, that that glow spread to all around her in the film, and then out to me in the audience.

The screenplay is perfect, with a naturalness in allowing the characters to just be and look and feel. Editing is super; every shot and scene is meaningful. Dialogue too is natural, unrushed, unpretentious. The lead character grows before you over a 2 week period in a completely believable way, as she awakens to the greater world beyond the convent.I also loved all the male characters with their goodness.Very refreshing, given the portrayal of men in much of cinema today.The camaraderie and love they all shared with Avril was most heartening and I felt really fortunate to have been part of it.

I am so looking forward to this new director's next work.