Mauvaises fréquentations

I for one one know how to say anything in French other that "yes","yes sir","excuse me" and other sorted words/comments which wouldn't get me out of the French airport; but there's something about this movie as all good foreign films that made me fluent in the French language I was immediately wrapped up in the world of these two girls who fall for their boyfriends but despite the fact that their plan to leave all together comes down to the girls degrading themselves into the world of prostitution where the are subsequently seen as outcasts by their friends and classmates and seen as no more then whores by the boys who "use their services" the girls learn the hard way that not everything is the way it seems. In the end I feel sad for the loss of true love due to the circumstances by way of the only boy which really did love her in his own naive way but could not get the same love back from a girl who's hart was stolen by someone else who in the end would betray her trust. In the world we live in now growing pains are much more common by the ways perfectly portrayed in this film and in this ever changing world we could all learn something from the mistakes of these two girls but never the less this kind of life story is one better experienced personally.

I like French movies a lot, and I like racy content however, this movie is silly. Reality check: If Laurent was a destitute heroin junkie badly in need of a fix and Delphine was an abused run-away with no family to turn to for help, I might have had some chance of accepting this movie's plot. There are so many other better French movies out there, try Jean-Luc Godard instead of this.

This film is rather fine. From the very first scene I loved it, and fell instantly in love with Delphine; the star and the best reason to see and savour this film. Maud Forget, who plays her, exudes such sensitivity it is really hard not to love her. Delphine is a shy young thing who sits at the back of the class, never speaking as that would be just too scary, next to her male friend who secretly loves her: although that much is obvious from the very first scene; so only really secret in that she doesn't know or is just too young to see it. Then she befriends the new girl to her class and her life changes completely. And this meeting is the key to the film, as Olivia essentially releases her from a self-imposed inhibited personality. And whereas before she was just a very beautiful girl now she becomes alive and moves so incredibly fast from what she was she can't believe it's the same person, and then she meets Laurent.

Laurent is a cutie: really, and it's easy to see why she falls for him: beautiful and charming and the relationship that moves the film from coming-of-age triteness to an unsettling emotional tour de force. It's so much more. It's about how much we should and/ or do sacrifice for love, and then we realise that Laurent isn't as cute as he appears: in fact he is an unfeeling emotionally manipulative user. He wants to escape France and go to Jamaica (which in English has a very amusing pun over the whole film!!) and the only way he can think of getting some money is to persuade her into prostitution: which isn't advised to anyone out there thinking of a career change! But hey if that's what you want to do then who am I to say.

So, without giving too much away the film is very good indeed. You sit for the first three-quarters wondering when this prostitution thing will come, and perhaps like how I did wonder if the description of it was wrong: as it takes so long to come. But this is the key to its greatness as by the time it eventually does you're thinking how she could descend into it when she is such a young cute thing. And when it does you're so much involved with the film you can't help but love her even more and just wonder how if at all it's going to be sorted. Go and see it if you ever get the chance, it will make you feel like falling in love. Preferably not with Laurent but with someone as utterly beautiful and as charming as Maud Forget: but hey that really would be asking for too much. There are too many Laurents and not enough Delphines. Who is a wonderful young actress, and one to look out for: she will be great, if not already. Anna Paquin anyone? In fact the whole cast is excellent. So all in all a very very good film. A perfect soundtrack too.

Did not know what to expect when I rented this film but I wound up just loving it.

The beautiful Maude Forget just brought out the poignancy of her character of a teenager coping with the angst of first love. Wonderful film.

A must see for anyone needing a break from the car chases, explosions and shoot-'em-ups. Beautiful scenes too in parts of France I would love to live (or retire) in. All in all... you won't regret seeing this film. You'll come away in love with Maude and haunted by the excellent acting of all the players.

For more than half an hour, this is no more than a conventional and rather boring story about first love among young teens. Maybe the film makers realized this, adding a rude drama for the second half of the movie, which has very little to do with the first half.

It could work, in the same way a good thriller can take a long time before the horrors emerge - but it doesn't, not at all, because the development of the plot is simply not plausible in the characters. There is nothing in them, which convinces me that they would get themselves into that mess. Nor is there anything about them revealed in the second half of the movie, which would bring light to the sudden change.

It's like two movies in one, or maybe even three or four. One or two of them could be good, left alone, but not a chance when they're messed up with each other.