Bilitis (1977)

Director:

David Hamilton

Writers:

Robert Boussinot (writer)
Catherine Breillat (writer)

Release Date:

October 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

A coming of age story centering on the exploits of a young girl during summer vacation. |

Plot Keywords:

Coming Of Age | Softcore | Lesbianism | Sexual Awakening | Lesbian

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Patti D'Arbanville	...	Bilitis
Mona Kristensen	...	Melissa
Bernard Giraudeau	...	Lucas
Mathieu Carrière	...	Mikias
Gilles Kohler	...	Pierre
Irka Bochenko	...	Prudence
Jacqueline Fontaine	...	Head Mistress
Marie-Thérèse Caumont	...	Sub-Principal
Germaine Delbat	...	Principal
Madeleine Damien	...	Nanny
Camille Larivière	...	Susy
Catherine Leprince	...	Helen
Jane Buckle	...	Girl
Sabine	...	Girl
Mirella Rancelot	...	Girl (as Mirella)

Also Known As:

Bilitis (USA)

Runtime:

95 min | Germany:89 min (25 fps) (TV version)

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:R | Germany:16 | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | UK:18 | USA:R | Norway:16

Company:

Ectafilms

Movie Connections:

Featured in Playboy: The Story of X (1998) (V)

Beautiful girls and film, but weak male characters and storyline.

This is an sensuous film with beautiful teenaged girls lovingly filmed undressing, and then playing, in a lake.

In fact an edited version of 30 minutes would make my favourite film of all time. The pity is the other 60 minutes.

My critique can be broken up into great, mediocre and disappointing.

Great

Without a doubt this film has the most erotic and sensous scenes I have ever scene. Specifically:

Full frontal nudity of teenaged girls undressing, and then playing, in the lake;

Dormitory scenes with Bilitis and her bestfriend;

Semi-nude of love scenes between Melissa [Mona Kristensen]and Bilitis [Patti D'Arbanville];

Bilitis having Melissa help undress Bilitis after a sea-side swim; and

Theatrical performance with girls in see-through costumes.

Good

The tension between Melissa and her husband, Pierre [Gilles Kohler];

The scenes of pre-war semi-rural France;

The costume recreations-especially with the teenaged girls' school clothing.

Disappointing

The lead male, Lucas [Bernard Giraudeau], who was a weak male-chauvinist. Maybe as this was a girls' boarding school there was a shortage of attractive boys/men around, and so they would have fantasised about any youngish new man who appeared on the scene.

It would have been better if Bilitis and Pierre were attracted to one another as that that would have created sexual tension. He was the only male character that I liked, yet he only appeared in a few scenes.

If not tension between Bilitis and Pierre , then between Pierre and the girl he was taking to the equestrian event in Monaco.

Patti D'urbanville at 26-27 playing a 16-17 year old. Although the use of a substitute teenaged figure for the sensuous scenes were used.

Overall

I loved it.