This week I have selected another film from the year 1995 from France; it is a film that some of you may know about but I think that it is still worth mentioning. It is La Fille Seule (A Single Girl). The film was directed by Benoit Jacquot and starred Virginie Ledoyen in a role that brought her some attention in Hollywood. Most of the English-speaking public may recognize her from the Danny Boyle-helmed Leonardo DiCaprio-starring The Beach.
A Single Girl takes place over the span of one day in the life of a young Parisian woman as she deals with two life-altering events – her first day of work and her discovery that she is pregnant. The film is shot in “real-time” and in the style of French New Wave (source: Wikipedia).
The movie is a well-paced 90 minutes and kept me constantly engaged. I remember watching this for the first time on late-night cable and made it a point to catch it in its entirety on a repeat viewing.
I think I’ve caught a piece of this one, but not the entirety…I remember it being engaging, and Ledoyen is, to me among many others, very easy to watch (even if THE BEACH is a pretty bore).
Hi, iluv and company:
Good catch! This is one that completely slid under my radar. Though it looks like one I’ll soon seek out.
Jack and Todd …. Virginie Ledoyen is a very watchable screen presence. I have seen her in a couple of other films which I also enjoyed.
Hi Luv, oh yeah I remember Virginie Ledoyen in The Beach, but I wasn’t too impressed w/ her, Leo nor the film itself. I’m not too familiar w/ French cinema, but this one sounds intriguing.
Hey Ruth … (don’t know why I had to approve your comment today ;)).
Oh well … back to the subject at hand. I did not see The Beach myself so my experience watching her in films is limited to her native language. And like I said is a watchable screen presence.
On a side note, do not think I am delivering earth-shattering news when I say this but sometimes I prefer non-US based actress in their native tongue. The comfort with one’s native language cannot be underestimated.
Another fine example for me is Penelope Cruz. Love many of her Spanish films but not so much in love with several of her Hollywood outings (Vicky Cristina Barcelona a noted exception – but I almost do not count it – she speaks Spanish quite a lot in it).
Ahaha that poster is terrible. It looks like something I made for a 10th grade project in MS Word.
🙂 In its defense, Castor I don’t think that is the original poster – at least my DVD cover was a little more basic – just the girl the title and some other random credits thrown in. There is a lot going on.
Hi Luv, oh yeah I totally understand. Good example w/ Penelope Cruz, I can’t stand her Spanish accent when she’s speaking English but if she’s speaking Spanish I have no problem w/ it.