L'étudiante

To speak frankly - This is not just a french movie.

And honestly, it does have it's flaws, like every movie.

Good news is: They do not really matter.

Valentine is a young student in Paris, who hasn't got time for anything, not even for sleeping. A romance that lasts longer than a night is out of the question. Then she meets Ned, who doesn't even take the time to finish his sentences. From here it takes a rather usual turn: They fall in love until they start getting to know each other better and they reach the turning point, to settle for true love or to separate.

Everyone who gets to see this classic movie, that is in love or ever has been, shall jump up at the end and scream: 'Yes! Yes! That's exactly how it is!' With tears in one's eyes, because love is just like this and that's what L'étudiante has captured in all of its beauty.

This movie begins with love and it ends with it, furiously. Director Claude Pinoteau takes the viewer on a trip, that begins with the first amazement of a new acquaintance, this feeling that takes your breath away and ends in a monologue which is, in my honourable opinion, one of the best ever.

Hello IMDB, I'm again. Of course I've seen this film just as the La Boum 1 & 2. This is very good movie about a student, that how could she (Valentine) check against her private-life and her preparing for the final exams. Ned (Edouard) is a kindly man, who tries to tear Valentine from her exams. Quarrells and reconciliations. Maybe it's a little bit cliché topic, but meanwhile you watch the film, you don't see this, 'cos the casts are excellent. I recommend this film everyone to see once a time; from the children to grandparents. And not at last the music. . . So, Vladimir Cosma has made another great song: "You call it love". This what I wanted to say. Bye.

After her withdrawal from "La septième cible", Sophie Marceau and Claude Pinoteau had a strained relationship. The director who had discovered the now ambitious actress felt betrayed by her decision to leave his movie, and didn't talk to her for four years. Still, every bad thing has some good consequences, and Sophie Marceau's participation in more complex films during her period of misunderstanding with Pinoteau allowed her to play even more convincingly when they reconciled in "L'étudiante". It was "La Boum" for the now grown-up original audience. "La Boum" in university.

Like Vic before her, Marceau's new heroine, Valentine, a student, is one of the most relatable kind. Opinionated and smart, she charms not only with her presence, but also with her words. It is though the former that she makes a young jazzman, Ned (Vincent Lindon) fall for her. Believing it to be just a one-night adventure, she goes out with him. But she can't get him out of her head on the days that pass. Is it love? For her, surely, but she can't sacrifice five years of studying for a relationship. Balancing her love life with her studies will prove to be the theme of this charming movie.

Despite having called the protagonist relatable, one can recognise that her personality has some exaggerated elements. She is, I think, too intellectual to be believable, and her arguments over sociological or political matters have no substance or purpose in a romantic comedy. It's as if she's trapped in the wrong film. For all that, though, her relatability stems from the fact that she has to balance two different aspects of her life, both prevalent in the university years. Not many people have had - or would have - relationships with touring musicians, but many would have partners for whom the importance of university would be incomprehensible. A classic workaholic, Valentine can't let Ned make her effort go to waste. She needs to succeed, and love doesn't let her do that.

Speaking of Ned, he also has his fair share of contradictory elements. While he wants to become a famous musician, he is too careless and lets valuable opportunities to unused. Too submissive to impose his presence, he unsuccessfully tries to record a film score, only to learn that his place has been taken by someone else, and does nothing. The only person understanding him is Valentine, and it is the meeting of these antithetic characters that gives the film its charm.

For this reason, the film is clearly commercial. Only a commercial film could survive with such a contradictory cast. What saves it is the cast's interaction, full of emotion, and the aforementioned plot, with its fair degree of relatability. Its resembling of "La Boum", with its relentless optimism, and its faith in true love, that prevails even in situations when it seems impossible. It is, surely, cheap, a cash-grabber, aimed to an audience that still carried their love of "La Boum" with them. But it is a gentle one. Even if it was made for money, it makes up for it using the same formula that made "La Boum " successful. One combining innocence and relevant maturity, with a soundtrack that sticks to the ear for days to come.

It is, as mentioned above, "La Boum" for university students. Nothing more and nothing less. One can't, and mustn't expect a lot from such films. They exist for other reasons. To make us dream, and feel joy. To make us travel back in a time when the University of Paris was still called the Sorbonne, and putting a Walkman in someone's ears was an indication of love.

For all its cheapness, it is as romantic and nostalgic as can get. And for that, it is invaluable.

Sophie Marceau: absolutely gorgeous, genius, and multi-talented. This underrated romantic comedy is definitely a gem. I recommend contemplating the fact that she was 21 years old when she commanded this role. Wow! She dated, copulated, studied, wrote and defended a dissertation and succeeding in dispelling my disbelief. This film is like a Valium. I always rely on "L'etudiante" to cheer me up when the world is literally in the middle of a Pandemic, racial injustice is out of control, and the global economy is sinking. This is truly a joy. The sets, cinematography, casting, writing, and most of the music is amazing.

This was the first french movie i had seen, and seeing it made me feel i had been losing out on a great genre. I instantly fell in love with Sophie, who without a doubt, is easily the hottest thing to come out of France after Brigitte Bardot ;-)

The movie follows the life of a carrer oriented woman who decides to have a "fling" and then the fling slowly turns into something which she is uncomfortable accepting, as it may interfere with her studies.

A beautifully made film, though the track is pretty standard for a June-December romance.