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"La Fille Seule" from Tuna
La Fille Seule (The
Single Girl) is being released tomorrow (7/5/00).
Staring Virginie Ledoyan, this critically
acclaimed and popular film bored me to tears.
Basically, we follow Virginie around for a day
with a steady cam. First, she tells her young and
unemployed boyfriend that she is pregnant. Quelle
Surprise, he is not happy about that. Then we
follow her through her first day of work as a
room service waitress where, Quelle Suprise
Encore, she is hit on by staff and guests alike,
and resented by less attractive waitresses. The
story takes place in near real time, so we get to
enjoy countless scenes of her walking down
streets and through halls.
She took off her top
once, but kept her back to the camera. At one
point, she delivers a breakfast to a couple who
are doing the "old in and out." Maybe
it is just wishful thinking, but I think they
were actually doing it. See unknown 2 and 3,
which look almost identical, but are actually a
few seconds and two strokes apart. Maltin calls
this a star-making performance, and Virginie was
nominated for a Cesar for most promising young
actress. Perhaps if I was a single, pregnant,
young, French waitress I would have found more to
relate to in this film.
Thumbnials
Unknown (1,
2,
3)
Virginie Ledoyan
"Søndagsengler"
from Tuna
Søndagsengler
("The Other Side of Sunday") was
nominated for Best Foreign Film Oscar in 1996,
and won best film and best actress awards in
other festivals. It is a beautiful Norwegian film
that speaks eloquently about two things -- the
hypocrisy of some fundamentalist Christians, and
the difficulty of female adolescence. Marie
(Marie Theisen) is fifteen and daughter of the
popular local priest. She believes in God, but
not the same God as her father. She sees a God of
love, who inspired "The Song of
Solomon" and believes in nature, and that
people should be happy. Her father's God is made
of far sterner stuff. When she asks him if he
loves her, the best Father can manage is,
"It is a parents duty to love his
children."
Meanwhile, Marie is
developing, though not as fast as she would like
-- "I want large breasts that point
up." - and wants to fit in with the more
earthy of her peers. She longs to be so daring as
to wear ear rings, and drink a coke in the local
teen hangout. She is becoming increasingly
resentful over her upcoming confirmation. Her
only real friend is the church organist
(Hildegunn Riise), who has never actually been
daring, but has had daring dreams. When Marie
learns that her father has had a personal
(although probably not intimate) relationship
with the organist, and a young priest grabs her
in the woods and kisses her passionately, she
finds the strength to be her own person. At the
same time, those she has been wanting to emulate
are giving in and conforming to the church. She
tells one of them, "You are Christian
enough. Stop all that kneeling, your knees can
get infected."
Young Marie gives a
great performance, as does everyone in the film,
and Marie is a character that I related strongly
to. Obviously not for fans of high-testosterone
films, but I highly recommend it to those who
enjoy quality character-based foreign cinema.
Thumbnials
Hildegunn Riise (1,
2,
3,
4)
Marie Theisen (1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8)
Movies
by Aussie
Today's featured film,
Andie MacDowell nude from "Ruby Cairo".
Number one is probably your best bet for the most
visible skin. (1,
2,
3)
Graphic
Response
The rarest of the GR finds is,
Stella Stevens age fifty something, in "Last
Call". Jennifer MacDonald in Red Shoe
Diaries episode: "The Cake". Nicole Kidman from "Dead
Calm". Also known as the other movie with a
sinking boat and a red head staring Billy Zane. Nicole with a super 80's hair do,
and a great 80's butt, in the Aussie film
"Windrider".
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