Young & Beautiful

The French have quite a tradition of films about prostitution. Starting of course by 'Belle de Jour', the iconic movie in which Cathérine Deneuve decides to work in a brothel out of boredom. Ten years ago, there was 'Nathalie', with Emannuelle Béart in the role of a high- class call girl who is hired to spy on a man suspected of adultery. And only two years ago, the underrated 'Elles' hit the screens, with Anaïs Demoustier as a young call girl and Juliette Binoche as a journalist writing a story about prostitution by students. These are just three examples, I'm sure there are more.

And now, 'Jeune et Jolie' (Young and Beautiful) is continuing the tradition. It tells the story of Isabelle, a quiet seventeen year old girl, who for unknown reasons starts working as a call girl. The film is divided into four chapters, one for every season. In the summer part, Isabelle loses her virginity to a German hunk during a beach holiday, just days before her seventeenth birthday. The next part is set in the autumn, and already Isabelle is working as a high heeled hooker, routinely visiting paying customers in posh Parisian hotels. The next winter everything goes wrong and her parents learn about her secret life. The last part, set in spring, shows how she is trying to pick up her old life as a student, but it's difficult to erase the past.

The good thing is that director François Ozon doesn't judge Isabelle, nor explains why she does what she does. He only suggests that she is not really happy, she seems remote, ill- tempered and emotionally vulnerable. Isabelle is not very popular or likable. The only one she really seems to connect to on an emotional level, is her younger brother Victor. In a recent interview, actress Marine Vacth suggests that Isabelle just wants to try something exciting. It might as well have been drugs.

Ozon tells the story well. Because of the four seasons concept, the story keeps on developing. He also throws in some nice cinematographic treats, like the small scene of Isabelle and her fellow students commenting in close-up about a poem by Rimbaud. The final scene consists of a surprising twist, involving some superb acting by Charlotte Rampling. Also working very well are the songs by Françoise Hardy on the soundtrack.

Apparently, 'Jeune & Jolie' has been described as 'Belle de Jour 2.0'. That is definitely exaggerated. But nevertheless, it is a fine coming-of-age film.

A young and beautiful girl sells her body to rich older men, lying about her age, and hiding it to her parents and friends. Until an unexpected event forces her to confront reality. The new film's subject from French director François Ozon is close to Julia Leigh's 2011 "Sleeping Beauty", but the treatment is quite different. Nothing is odd or strange here. We follow Isabelle's journey through the discovery of sexuality in a very realistic fashion, typical of Ozon's filmmaking.

The only trouble is that we are not troubled ! The script is so predictable that we get very few surprises throughout the film, and we do not care for Isabelle's fate at all. That's a shame considering the interesting subject.

The lack of explanation for her behavior is a good thing, we do not get the usual psychological/environment/parents syndrome, but this leads to a certain shallowness.

Actors do a fine number, especially the beautiful Marine Vacth, whom we should see again very soon, hopefully in a more rewarding role.

The French teenager Isabelle (Marine Vacth) is spending summer holiday with her middle-class family in the south of France and decides to lose her virginity with the German teenager Felix (Lucas Prisor). Then she returns to Paris with her mother Sylvie (Géraldine Pailhas), her stepfather Patrick (Frédéric Pierrot) and her younger brother Victor (Fantin Ravat).

Then Isabelle works as a call girl using the nickname Lea and meeting old men. She feels affection for her client Georges (Johan Leysen) that is married with a daughter. When Georges dies from a heart attack while having sex with Isabelle in a hotel, she flees but the police investigate and identifies her. The detectives in charge of the investigation disclose to Sylvie that is devastated. Isabelle quits prostitution, but once prostitute, forever prostitute.

"Jeune & Jolie" by François Ozon begins as a coming of age version of "Belle de Jour", where the lead character is attracted by money instead of by sexual fantasies. Even the poster recalls the one from Buñuel's masterpiece. Isabelle belongs to a middle-class family and does not have financial needs but despite of that, she is attracted by money. This is clear based on her reaction when her mother takes her money and when she explains to the police detective how she started to prostitute after receiving an offer from a stranger. Further, she is cold and seems to care only to her younger brother and Georges. When she loses her virginity with Felix, it seems to be part of her plan to explore her sexuality to make money. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Jovem e Bela" ("Young and Beautiful")

A girl goes to the beach with her parents and younger brother. She loses her virginity to a boy she meets there. The experience is rather unsatisfying, so for some reason she becomes a high-class prostitute for middle-aged and elderly men.

It is a long-time convention of French cinema for young girls (often underage girls) to become sexually involved with older men. It might be a nod to the changing times that in films like this and "Student Services" and "Elles", they're now apparently getting paid for it at least. But while those other two French films (and the similar Eastern European film "A Call Girl") are about university students who resort to prostitution to pay for their studies, this is a younger girl who still lives with her parents, and her motives for selling her body are pretty opaque to say the least. Still, this film is perhaps less hypocritical than the others because while ALL these films contain more sex/nudity than is really necessary, this at least is a strange but singular story of one character and is not positing itself as a "problem" movie about how terrible it is that unbelievably sexy young girls are doing things like this--while, of course, SHOWING them doing things like this as much as possible.

This film is no better or worse than the aforementioned ones, but it is somewhat of disappointment coming as it does from auteur Francois Ozon. Ozon is perhaps most famous for "Swimming Pool", but he has actually made any number of interesting films like "Sitcom", "See the Sea", "Criminal Lovers", and even the murder-mystery musical "8 Women". Compared to those, this film is just horribly conventional. The actress Marine Vacth, a gorgeous former model, is obviously about five years older than her character, which is probably a good thing because even when she's not having graphic sex with the elderly, she's being spied on sunbathing topless, showering, or masturbating by the male members of her own family! Her performance is adequate, but really pales compared to the performance by Adele Exarchopolous in "La Vie d'Adele" (which this film competed against at Cannes last year). But then it's hard to give a believable performance when you aren't given a believable character.

This film tells the story of a teenage middle class girl who explores her sexuality by becoming a prostitute.

"Young and Beautiful" shows a lot of skin, but little of the mind. I mean this in a good way though, because it keeps Isabelle's life choices mysterious. When it does show Isabelle's mind (in the scene where she talks to the psychologist), she opens up and shows her true emotions that have been suppressed. Isabelle's short confession is enough to provoke much thought, and makes the film more sophisticated. It's just like the scene towards the end, when she switches on her phone, her brief facial expression is already telling us a lot.

The plot is not as tight or thrilling as Ozon's previous film "In the House", but it is still enjoyable as it lingers my mind after watching it.