L'effrontée

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!

Charlotte Gainsbourg was the main reason why I watched this movie yesterday. Just recently I discovered her as a singer and it was a real revelation for me. She makes a perfect music, her voice is incredible, I can listen to her songs all the time! When I wanted to find out more about her, about her life I found out that she was also an actress. And now I can confirm that she is also a brilliant actress as well. This French lady is very very talented and definitely I am going to watch more of her movies. This film is beautiful. Very simple, very natural, Charlotte (it's also the name of the young girl in this movie she plays) is a very sweet young girl who desperately tries to be noticed by her father and her brother and a child prodigy who comes to her town. She needs an attention and love. That's all I can write, no more spoiler. Watch this movie and you will not regret it. This film deserves at least two TENS but I can give only a one.

Claude Miller likes to portray unhappy people as he believes that nothing happens to happy people. His films have won him both critical as well as Box Office success. L'Effrontee shows how hard it is to live as a neglected child with desires and aspirations. Claude Miller's poetic mis- en-scene imparted divine exquisiteness to a pure tale of uncertainty. Charlotte experiences the passage from childhood to adolescence in a difficult manner. Miller has created one of the best coming of age film in years. Things become tough for Charlotte when she is introduced to an alien world of music. She reminds us of our childhood dreams and frustrations. Miller has always championed the cause of young characters in his films portraying complex personal relationships. L'Effrontee is similar to his earlier film "La meilleure facon de marcher" as he has aimed to portray joys and sorrows experienced by adolescents in their formative years. As a cinéaste who learned his métier from Truffaut, Claude Miller will continue to create stories of troubled childhoods.

Charlotte Gainsbourg is the main reason to watch this very typical coming-of-age film. She manages to make her character feel human and seem interesting, which is no easy task when she is playing quite a standard insecure teen character. The film does not take the tiresome story of a person wanting to escape their world and change their life to any new level, and it includes some awkward scenes (such as young girl mooning) that add nothing to the story. The film is also weighed down by an overbearing soundtrack of loud and inappropriate songs, but it is by no means a poor film overall. It is decent viewing, and the beautiful child prodigy character played Clothilde Baudon adds some zest, although as already mentioned, the lead performance is the primary reason to see this film.

France has a long tradition of making movies centered around adolescence. From Truffaut's "The 400 blows" (1958), to Pinoteau's "La Boum" (1980), many a French film have marked generations of teens. "L'effrontée" is one of them, rightly acclaimed when it came out, and as sweet a story as it can get.

The movie follows Charlotte Gainsbourg's homonymous teenage character, an arrogant girl who is more sophisticated than teens of her age. Both of her parents have died, and so she lives with two simple, quite close-minded adults, with her only friend being a sick child, Loulou, who lives next door. All this changes when child prodigy Clara Baumann comes to the city for a piano recital. The heroine tries to befriend her, and falsely believes that Baumann wants her as her impresario. In the course of the story, the protagonist takes valuable lessons about friendship, the sense of belonging, and family.

The director, Claude Miller, had risen to popularity with his noir classic, "Garde à vue" in 1981. His fame mostly stemmed from crime films, such as the aforementioned and the intricate, "Mortelle randonnée " (1983),in which he paired Michel Serrault and Isabelle Adjani in a gripping story of murder and love. It is though, in "L'effrontée" where his true skills shine. Like Truffaut before him, Miller seems to understands the youth regarded as outcasts. Our heroine is an intellectual, whose irritation comes from the fact that no one wants to understand her, since her way of behaviour is strange for a kid her age. In the film, she is presented both as forward-thinking, wanting to escape life in her dull small town, and self-centered, as she has no problem leaving everyone behind in order to achieve her goal. In the end, though, most viewers will empathize with her passion for life, her will to rise, and become something more than just a small -town girl.

Gainsbourg's acting was excellent and she rightly deserved her César for most promising actress. The others were good, too, but it's through her that the film becomes what it is. The whole movie serves as a journey to the young heroine, who cries, laughs, dreams, tries to find a person to look up to, only to understand in the end that this person isn't the one she was searching for.

The music makes this film even more enjoyable. Although there is no original score, the viewers are served to frequent listening of European super -hit "Sarà perché ti amo" by Ricchi e poveri. The song also serves as a way to discover Charlotte Gainsbourg's character in the film. It's a simple pop song, mainstream music, something that the common teenagers of the time listened to. By listening to it, the heroine betrays the very same thing she wants to be; a sophisticated, grown-up person. It's not that she has any particular passion for classical music; the only reason she wants to go with Clara is to find her own idol, to differentiate herself from her environment. In reality, though, she remains an ordinary teenager, prefering chart-toppers to masterpieces of music.

The film makes an interesting point about teen idols and friendships. If we put the average teen in the place of the protagonist, most of them would also see themselves as unique, and would want to escape their family environment. Every teenager has a Clara Baumann, although they probably haven't met her in person. It's their idol, a person they look up to, they want to be like and they imitate. It's a sad reality, though, that many of these idols are too different, too perfect, for teens to really emulate, and believe they are one of them. While it's not correct to give up one's dreams, it's more important to focus on the present, and help those who need you now,your family, and your real friends, Miller tells us. Because,at the end of the day, it's not the over-ambitious Charlotte, or the talented Clara that benefits the most, but the simple, sickly, annoying Loulou.

What more can I say about "L'effrontée"? It's such a charming film that I loved everything about it. The 80's is not only the lavishness of "Star Wars", the adventurousness of "Indiana Jones", and the fun of "La Boum". It's also the sweetness of "L'effrontée". Claude Miller did it again, and way better this time.