Água Fria

Assayas is a great director, and while this isn't my favorite of his films (right now its between "Clouds of Sils Maria" or "Summer Hours"), it still deserves a five star rating. The characters in this film are deeper and more interesting than 90% of the coming of age stories out there, and the lessons they learn aren't at all tawdry. For our full review of Cold Water and hundreds of other reviews, articles, and podcast episodes visit us at True Myth Media!

This is an interesting film about two teenage French lovers, both from troubled homes. The boy has the typical, at times overbearing and at other times inattentive, divorced father. The girls' home-life is much worse. Her father gains custody of her just so he can commit her to an institution. Her mother is well-meaning, but has troubles of her own, being mixed up with Scientology and a violence-prone Muslim boyfriend. After the girl escapes from the institution, the pair rendezvous at a party/bonfire at an abandoned house (an interesting scene that takes up nearly the whole middle third of the movie); they then go on the lam together.

America/Hollywood has made many (really way too many) movies about teens, most of which are typically saccharine and very cliché-ridden. The French, on the other hand, often make movies with teens (especially teen girls) who are worldly and sophisticated beyond their years and typically involved in sexual affairs with angst-filled middle-age men. This movie really avoids either of these tedious moulds, and given that, and the general lack of over-the-top drama, this one of the more realistic teen movies I've seen, either from France OR America. Given the music, I think it might have been set sometime before 1994 (maybe the 70's) and could have been a personal story for the filmmakers.

French beauty Virginie Ledoyen is, of course, much more attractive than your typical alienated teenage girl, even given a startling scene where she gives herself a very bad haircut on-screen while her emotionally disturbed character is wandering around the house party (to the tune of Janis Joplin's rendition of "Me and Bobbi McGee"). Her bad haircut and surprisingly very decent acting almost make her seem like a normal troubled teen girl for awhile (at least, until she takes all her clothes off at the end and reminds us we're in the presence of rare, unattainable beauty--but then I guess that's a stupid thing to complain about). I know less about the young actor playing the boy, but he's very decent too. The adults in the movie are believably ineffectual while the teens and teen extras are believably inarticulate (it's nice not to hear the kind of precocious trendy teen-speak that American movies are always lousy with).

I've seen a lot of French movies about teens recently (or, at least, ridiculous sexy French teen girls) like "Noce Blanche" and "Elisa" (with Vanessa Paradis and Gerard Depardieu), "La Boum" (with a young Sophie Marceau), and "L'Ennui" (with Sophie Guillemin). This may or may not be the best, but it is certainly the most realistic.

I'm not saying it's a bad film, but it definitely isn't great. It's awkwardly filmed, the actors don't deliver any emotion. It's somehow.... dull. For a movie which should explode with emotion, this one just doesn't deliver. It has a good soundtrack, a good story (though very common), but the rest is blank. Not even the lines are worth any attention. I understand this is a low budget, independent film, but unlike others I've seen, it didn't get my attention.

It's early 70's. Troubled teens Christine (Virginie Ledoyen) and Gilles (Cyprien Fouquet) are star-crossed lovers. She has a problematic relationship with her dad. She gets caught shoplifting while he escapes. She escapes from juvenile detention while he starts playing with dynamite. She convinces him to leave for an artist commune as they walk into the deep woods off the grid.

Olivier Assayas directs this personal indie as he grows into a strong voice in French cinema. The male lead is a bit of a blank but that's fine for the role. Ledoyen cements herself as a promising new actress in this film. She has a gorgeous and open look. She pulls in the audience. I expected Gilles to do something with the dynamite. His side of the story is a little disappointing that doesn't go to its full potential. The ending leaves the threads untied and their relationship uncertain. These are two young hot people in love but the future is no happily ever after. It's left hanging and that's how I felt. I'm uncertain about these kids and this movie.

Taking a low-key approach to events that are only earth-shaking to the people involved, Asseyas has made something beautiful and moving from the lives of teenagers not that different from everyone else. The inevitable tragedy plays out with complete naturalness. And the entire sequence of the party at the empty house, rhythmed by the music, is breathtaking.