Tendres cousines (1980)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

David Hamilton

Writers:

Pascal Lainé (novel)
Josiane Lévêque (writer)

Release Date:

November 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Romance | Drama

Plot:

Fourteen year old Julien is in love with his cousin, Julia.

Plot Keywords:

Summer | Love | Breasts | Virginity | Female Frontal Nudity

Cast

Thierry Tevini	...	Julien
Anja Schüte	...	Julia
Valérie Dumas	...	Puone
Évelyne Dandry	...	Aunt Adèle
Elisa Servier	...	Claire
Jean-Yves Chatelais	...	Charles
Macha Méril	...	Julien's Mother
Hannes Kaetner	...	Professor Schöberg
Silke Rein	...	Liselotte Schöberg
Laure Dechasnel	...	Clementine
Pierre Vernier	...	Julien's Father
Jean Rougerie	...	Monsieur Lacroix
Catherine Rouvel	...	Madame Lacroix
Gaëlle Legrand	...	Mathilde
Anne Fontaine	...	Justine

Also Known As:

Cousins in Love
Tender Cousins
Zärtliche Cousinen (West Germany)
Zärtliche Cousinen - Ein Sommer voller Leidenschaft (Germany) (DVD title)

Runtime:

Germany:92 min | West Germany:86 min (25 fps) (TV version) | USA:90 min

Country:

France | West Germany

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:18 | Finland:K-16 (1988) (video release) | Finland:K-18 (1982) (theatrical release) | USA:R | West Germany:16 (nf)

Company:

Filmédis

child porn ?

"Tendres Cousines" has generally been placed into two categories in the past: sex comedy and those kinds of movies which are mainly about artsy cinematography. However, if it belongs in the first category, it is mostly boring, pretentious, dreary, and painfully unfunny (French movies usually fail to distinguish between cute and funny). If it belongs in the latter category, than the cinematography is a grainy mix of shots which resemble traditional paintings and also of downright ugly shots which could probably be attributed to the film´s low production values. However, the movie is notable for a different reason. While it only has about 9 sex scenes, about 4 involve Julien, the film´s 14 year old hero who actually looks 14 if not younger ! These tend to be relatively explicit, chock full of nudity and even hint at incest. Of course, the movie is probably intended to show a case of what can happen during puberty and what can lead adult or almost adult women (the women in the movie, by the way, are gorgeous) to have sex with a boy that young. Or, it could just be an attempt at a teenage "Emmanuelle". Nevertheless, it surprises me that this movie was not banned in the U.S. as child porn - not that it necessarily should be but Americans tend to be extremely sensitive to the problem of teen exploitation . All in all, "Tendres Cousines" is a weird and somewhat twisted little movie. Pedophiles and people who think that French people can do no wrong should love it.