Jean-Louis Trintignant's then-wife, Nadine made this work dealing with family matter with her own children ,Marie and Vincent .It was not the first time this director had featured Marie in one of her movies (see also "le voleur de crimes" and "défense de savoir" );Marie would become an actress when she grew up until her tragic death put an end to it. Her best role was arguably Chabrol's "Betty ".
And she is the main asset of "premier voyage" ;her stubborn rebellious look works wonders in the first scene when she faces her indifferent aunt whose character verges on caricature ; it highlights the film's problem : all the secondary characters are cardboard : the raper , the good guy (Richard Berry was given poor lines to work with) , the father (Patrick Chesnais 's character was slapdash ). Add so many implausibilities you cannot count them all: the gendarmes 'search , the first driver to come is obligatory a bad guy ,etc ..
If the movie remains pleasant ,it owes everything to its young stars,whose spontaneity wins the viewer over ; the splendid landscapes are also a plus.
