Les filles ne savent pas nager

My sister and I saw this film at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago. The film seemed to drag on forever without much forward motion. When it finally ended, the entire audience burst out laughing--a very odd response to a tragic narrative. I'm not really sure why everyone laughed--nervous tension, perhaps, since the film ends on a down-note. But, it was more than that. It seems that the pacing and the setting were so culturally removed from what most Americans are used to that the film seems almost absurd. Absurd is really not the right word--perhaps the film is just very difficult to identify with due to the overlong and tedious pacing and the utter lack of humorous moments to offset the downward spiral into sadness. I hate to mention cultural difference as being a reason to judge a film, but clearly some universal message was missing. Kieslowski's _Ten Commandments_ are examples of films that depict a very different culture from what some people in other countries might experience, but Kieslowski manages to instill a sense of humanity and timelessness to his work that _Girls Can't Swim_ cannot seem to muster.

And from my perspective, the two girls simply weren't very compelling. One teenage girl explores sex, the other is depressed over her father's death and does things like see how long she can hold her breath under water. Ho hum. Both could have used a bit more character development.

This isn't a bad film--just a very slow, humorless one.

The film lacked direction - where were we going? I would have preferred further exploration of the sexual tension between Lise and Gwen. What were all the erotic/romantic letters from Gwen all about? Once Lise shows up, Gwen treats her bad. The viewer had been led to believe that a certain amount of sexual attraction existed, but I never saw it at all, and that is unfortunate. It would have given an average film an "edge" over other coming of age stories.

Being a long-time viewer of French cinema, I had no problems with the pacing or style of this film. In fact, that's why I like European film in general, for a break from the predictability of Hollywood/American cinema.

Actually, I didn't think the pace of this film was particularly slow. "Gwen" seemed constantly on the move, one crisis quickly followed another in her family.

Both girls, as perhaps most people, seemed to have positive natures, but life was dealing them some hard blows, and neither had the tools to overcome the difficulties being dealt them.

Both needed affection and love, but were going about getting in unhealthy ways. They seemed to be searching for affection almost blindly, or instinctually, to me.

I felt empathy for both characters; and as for the comment that "the lead needs to be better looking," I disagree. I thought both were very attractive in their own way.

This film was a startling surprise. I found the natural performances and "un-rushed" pacing remarkably refreshing. I would compare the originality of the teenage characters more to Ghost World than the way they are often portrayed in popular American films like "Fast Times . ." or "Clueless". Gwen is a full of life, imaginitive, dark and original character. Lise was the misguided, down on her luck loner looking for answers in her mixed up world. I dont see how people could say this was boring.

How many times have you seen two French teenagers slap each other with fish guts. No, there is no gun scene and unlike Road to Perdition, it lacks stylized violence which may be hard for some viewers to handle. Aside from the abrupt ending, Its original characters, lovely seaside vistas, natural performances, and creative storytelling make this a hidden masterpiece.

Was this supposed to be the french "Marny". I don't know, I just know that the lead girl was pretty boring. When her girlfriend finally showed up, it was too late to save the film.

I never could figure out where anyone was coming from, except the father and he was portrayed as being unsympathetic.

The mother needed a bigger role, as the director found out too late.